Thoughts in the Process That Changes Who We Are
by dollymaki0495
Summary: Set after the 100th episode. An alternate route the B&B could have taken after opening 'that door'. Note: The original title of the story was "THE Thoughts in the Process That Changes Who We Are" but it was too long.
1. 12:32

In all the years she'd lived she had never let herself cry for a man. She had shed a single tear when she found out Sully was leaving, but when she looked at Booth through the interrogation room's two-way mirror after convicting a suspect, she had wiped it away. And that was it.

She was good at compartmentalizing. Actually, that's an understatement. She mastered it. It was something she saw in herself to be a big strength. It didn't matter how many times she'd heard from Angela that letting yourself cry once in a while was a good thing. She found that irrational. A waste of time.

But tonight, all of that had changed.

"_I'm the gambler" she had kind of smiled at him, before realizing where he was going with his statement "I believe in giving this a chance" Now she understood exactly where he was going and her eyes had widened "Look, I wanna give this a shot"_

"_You mean us?" She wanted to erase all doubts that he was infact confessing something to her. And he nodded. She tried to find the quickest, simplest, most rational reason to get out of where this conversation could lead to… she found it "No, the FBI won't let us work together as a couple-" _ _And it failed._

"_Don't do that, that is no reason" he had pulled her into a desperate kiss, and for a few seconds she kissed him back. She missed the feel of his lips on hers; she had only felt them twice. And the second time hadn't really counted. Although she liked it, but would never admit to it. But once she processed what was happening, she had pushed him away._

"_No! No!" She could barely bring herself to look into his eyes._

"_Why? Why?" She could sense that his eyes were filling with tears._

"_Y-you thought you were protecting me but you're the one that needs protecting" _

"_Protecting? From what?" His voice was shaking._

"_From me! I… I don't have your kind of open heart!" She knew she wouldn't be able to bear breaking his heart and risking his happiness wasn't worth achieving her own._

"_J-just give it a chance, that's all I'm asking!" His voice was pleading. She wasn't able to think so she decided to quote him, using his own words to keep him at bay._

"_No, y-you said it yourself. The definition of insanity and doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome" _

"_Then let's go for a different outcome here, all right? Let's just, hear me out, all right? You know when you talk to older couples who, have been in love for thirty or forty or fifty years, all right? It's always the guy who says 'I knew'" Her eyes began to fill with tears of their own by now. For the first time in her life she felt like a man really needed her. And it was too much because she knew she wouldn't be able to love him the way he deserved to be loved "I knew, right from the beginning" _

"_Your evidence is anecdotal" _

"_I'm that guy, Bones, I'm that guy, I know" All she had left was tears and the truth._

"_I- I am not a gambler. I'm a scientist. I can't change! I don't know how..." His face was full of pain "I don't know how" She could tell he was struggling to calm his face but failed "Please, don't look so sad!" What a ridiculous thing she had said. _

_She hated that she had said that because she knew he had every right in the world to be sad. She knew she had crushed or broken (or however you phrased it) his heart. And at that moment she began to regret her decision. Everything had happened so fast and all she had prepared was the thoughts she had pushed far back into her mind, hoping she would never have to use them because she knew she wasn't good enough for him. _

_He had told her they could still work together but that he had to move on. Now she couldn't look into his eyes, even if he had asked her to. She regretted all the words she had just spoken to him. And she knew she couldn't take them back. All she could do was link arms with him as they walked off together as her own way of apologizing what she had just put him through. And now that she had more than ten seconds to think, it was for no good reason._

She wasn't positive that she regretted her overall decision to turn him down, but why did it hurt so much? She felt as though she had lost him. As a best friend and as a partner. Even though he had said he would still work with her, she couldn't help but feel she'd pushed him away. She knew she felt something for Booth, but it was so new she didn't know what to think of it.

Now it was some amount of time past midnight. For all she knew, it could be 1 or 2am. All she knew for sure was the last time she looked at her clock, it had read midnight. And since she had got home, put on her robe and laid down on her bed, the tears had not ceased to fill up her eyes and flow down her cheeks. Nothing like this had happened to her since her parents disappeared and even though that had hurt her deeply and haunted her for the rest of her childhood, she knew she felt more pain now than she could ever remember. She was starting to fear she might drown in her own tears. She blinked to clear her vision and looked up at the clock.

'12:32'… 32 minutes had become an eternity.

As she cried alone in her quiet apartment, she began to think of how Booth was feeling. She knew he was alone right now, too. And if she had hurt herself this much, she couldn't even begin to think about how much she'd hurt him. She thought of him crying alone in his apartment like she was. That thought ripped through her entire body forcing out more tears as she trembled beneath her covers.

Part of her knew Booth was too strong to cry the way she was, but another part of her knew that she believed for the longest time that she was too strong for this as well. The very possibility of him being in this situation was enough to force her out of bed, to her car, and on her way to Booth's apartment.


	2. 12:41

Never in his life had he imagined what it would feel like to be so hopelessly in love with another person. He'd been in love before and he'd believed in love without a doubt. But this, the kind of love he'd hoped for his entire life, was something that was beyond putting into words. The best he'd come up with was that he was crazy, over the top, insanely in love with her.

He lie in his bed contemplating the conversation he'd had with her that night, going over every word about a million times, thinking of the things he would have said differently. He had told her he was going to have to move on. But he knew in his heart he would never truly move on from her. She was special.

He tried to understand what she meant by some of the words she said, analyzed them as best he could, trying to put himself into Sweets' shoes. He couldn't understand why she'd said that she couldn't change… Wasn't she aware of how much she'd changed already? He came to realize that she must only be scared.

But nonetheless, he was left heartbroken. His head throbbed as he had been trying too hard to hold his tears in his head. He knew he was alone and no one would know, but he wanted desperately to prove to himself that he could be strong. He could move on. He had to. He had to but he knew he wouldn't be able to. He would just have to settle for second best. Or adopt a bunch of cats. God, he hated cats.

Finally he just let his tears stream down his cheeks. He cried quietly. He kicked away his covers and let the coolness of the air soothe his body. He looked to his clock, unaware of how long he'd been lying there, thinking.

'12:41'… It must have been at least an hour and a half. But he figured he might as well forget the clock, he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight anyway.


	3. Booth's Apartment

She was standing outside his door and realized she didn't know what the hell she was doing. Why was she at his apartment? What the hell would this achieve? For once in her life she ignored the fact that she didn't have a reason and knocked on his door, quietly for she was weak from all the crying.

He had his eyes closed and was thinking about what it would be like if things had gone differently, if she had continued to kiss him and had been more willing to taking a chance. The idea forced a small smile on his face and gave him mere seconds of comfort.

But that was when he heard a small knock at the door. It was about 1am.

And he was sure he knew who it was.

He got up from his bed and slowly walked towards the door. He turned on the living room lights so they were dim and turned the door knob. He opened the door to reveal an obviously physically and emotionally exhausted Brennan. She was looking at the floor and slowly lifted her eyes to meet his when he opened the door. Her eyes were red and she had obviously been crying. And he knew she could see the same thing in himself.

"Bones" He was quiet and looked at her sympathetically.

"Booth" She was quiet too, she didn't have much strength left.

"What is it?"

"I don't know" she looked back to the ground "I have no idea what I'm doing" He moved to the side, inviting her in. She hesitantly accepted his offer.

"Do you need anything? To drink, eat?"

"No, I think I'm fine"

"Bones… You don't look fine" He wanted to find out why she was there and avoid the small talk.

"I could say the same thing about you" At that, he looked to the floor and his cheeks turned a little red. She sat down on his couch, propped her elbows on her knees and rested her head in her hands. Booth watched her.

"Bones, tell me, what is it? Why are you… or why do you _think_ you're here?" He walked so he was standing above her, careful so he wasn't hovering. She crossed her arms over her thighs and looked up at him.

"Booth I- I don't know what's going on. I got home after… after you know what happened and I just… Well look at me" tears started coming back into her eyes.

"Bones, it's gonna be okay, all right? We'll get through this. We're both strong," He sat beside her and put his hand on her shoulder. She turned slightly, avoiding his touch "Bones, it's okay. Look I was an idiot, all right? I never should have started what I did. I should have known that it would be too hard or that you probably don't feel how I feel about you" Brennan stood up and looked down on him.

"What? What do you mean 'how you feel about me'?"

"What do you want me to say, Bones? Look, I should have known that you don't love me back" Her face softened, her eyes looked sad and confused and she opened her mouth, slightly shaking her head.

"Booth, I never said that I don't- Booth, I just don't know. That's all," she turned and walked a few paces and turned back around to see that he had stood up as well "I got home and I couldn't stop crying. I don't know what's happening; I don't know what I want. All I know is I feel broken. And when I thought about you being broken, it hurt me even more. It hurt me to think that I hurt you. And the next thing I knew, I was knocking on your door"

"Bones, I'm not asking you to change. But the thing is, you have changed. So much. I couldn't understand what you meant when you said that you don't know how to change"

"Booth, I don't know how to love someone. You're someone who knows how to love and deserves to be loved the right way in return"

"And that's something you can learn. It's something anyone can learn"

"You're so much more than I deserve"

"That's not true"

"I don't want to hurt you"

"I know"

There was a short silence between the two as they stared at each other.

"I think… We need some sleep. We need to think" She made her way past him and back to his couch and sat down. He headed to his bedroom and came back out with a blanket and a couple pillows. He handed them to her. She looked a little confused.

"You're sleeping here. The rain's coming down a little harder now and you're too tired to drive home" She took the pillows and blankets from him before standing up and hugging him around his waist. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her tight.

"Thanks, Booth"

"It's not a problem" He failed at resisting the urge and kissed the top of her head "Good night, Bones"

"Good night, Booth" He let her go and she lay down. He threw the blanket over her and she closed her eyes. He let his hand linger on her arm for a few seconds before returning to his bedroom.

For some reason he knew with her in the next room, he would be able to sleep better. Maybe it was because they got more closure or maybe it was because her presence was a comfort. Either way, he fell asleep quickly.


	4. Cold Air and Bad Dreams

It was about 3am when a loud crack of thunder caused Booth to jerk from his sleep. Suddenly he was aware of how cold the apartment had gotten since he fell asleep and that Brennan was sleeping on his couch. He threw on his heavy robe and grabbed an extra blanket from his closet. He walked quietly from his bedroom to the living room where Brennan was deep in her sleep. As he got closer to her he realized she was shivering and talking in her sleep. He put the extra blanket over her and continued to stare at her. Her talking began to get louder and her eyes were clenched shut. She was having a nightmare. He crouched down in front of her. She continued to mumble when Booth swore he heard her say his name.

"Booth, help…. Help, Booth!" She looked terrified and Booth finally decided to snap her out of it, answering her plead for his help.

"Bones, hey, hey!" He shook her until she opened her eyes. He brushed the hair out of her face and rested his hand on her cheek "It was just a dream" When he looked down he realized he was holding her hand as well "You're all right, I'm right here"

"Oh, God" She sat up slowly and blinked a few times. He sat beside her and she hugged him.

"What happened?" He continued to hold her.

"I don't really remember. I think someone was trying to kill me and you were trying to find me but you couldn't…" She shook her head and Booth just stared at her "Why is it so cold out here?" She moved away from Booth and pulled her blankets around her shoulders "And when did I get two blankets?" Booth laughed.

"I brought you an extra one when I woke up from that thunder. I can't believe that didn't wake you up!"

"I'm a heavy sleeper"

"I caught on to that" they both chuckled awkwardly. Brennan continued to shiver and Booth realized it was even colder outside of his bedroom.

"God, Bones I'm so sorry. It doesn't usually get this cold. Something must be wrong with my heater"

"It's all right Booth, I'll be fine"

"It's warmer in my bedroom, why don't you come sleep in there?" she snapped her eyes at him, shocked at his invitation "Don't look at me like that. It's freezing out here and the rain is coming down in sheets. It's only logical"

"Booth, I don't know"

"Well then you go sleep in my room and I'll sleep out here"

"Booth, that's ridiculous I'm not going to kick you out of your own bed! Just get another blanket"

"The only other one I have is on my bed. Hey, common, we're both adults. It's not that big of a deal. And it's only for the rest of the night or until it stops raining, which I don't think will be any time soon" Brennan thought for a few seconds and decided he was right. It was logical and she was freezing her ass off on his couch.

"All right" They both got up and Booth directed her to go to his bedroom with his hand. He picked up her pillows and blankets and headed behind her.

When she got into his room she realized she had never been in there before. To her surprise, it was very nicely decorated and he had a good taste in colors. Booth took off his robe to reveal that he was wearing his tight FBI t-shirt and his boxers. He threw one of the extra blankets onto his bed and got in. She watched him awkwardly before getting in herself. It felt odd getting into bed with the man she had just rejected, almost ironic. She started to regret coming to his apartment. She felt like a huge burden.

Booth, on the other hand, felt much better than he did after their conversation the night before. Her presence and just the fact that she had come to his apartment to make sure he was okay gave him hope for their relationship. She really had changed. She just needed some time to realize it for herself.

They lay so they were both facing the same direction. Brennan found herself to be very comfortable in Booth's bed. She turned around to face Booth.

"Thank you, Booth, for all of this. I just don't wa-" Another crack of thunder louder than the one that had woken up Booth shook the room which made Brennan jump. She subconsciously moved closer to Booth but stopped herself before she was touching him. Booth laughed at this which made Brennan smile. She loved his laugh "Stop" she was still smiling and Booth shook his head laughing.

"It's okay Bones, you're cute" She raised an eyebrow at that comment but Booth ignored it "You just don't what?"

"What?"

"You were going to say something after you thanked me. You just don't what?"

"Oh. Um…" She propped her elbow up on her pillow and rested her head in her hand "I just don't want to be a burden to you. Especially after what happened" His eyes went from amused to confused. He propped himself up on his forearm.

"Bones, you're not a burden. Why would you think that?"

"I don't know because of how I'm handling this. Coming to your apartment after what happened and ending up having to sleep over. It isn't fair to you"

"Bones, it's more than okay. I was a wreck before you got here. You coming over is nothing less than good reassurance"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm glad we can still be in the same room together. Let's not avoid each other, all right? Let's work through this. Like you said, we both need some time to think"

"Yeah I guess" She laid back down and closed her eyes "Thank you, Booth" He laid down as well. He used his hand to smooth out her hair.

"You're more than welcome, Bones. Now go to sleep"

"Okay" She whispered with a smile as she was already half asleep.

Soon, they were both back in a deep sleep.


	5. Waking Up is Hard to Do

When she woke up she immediately remembered falling asleep cold, shivering away the chills every now and then. But now she was warm and a pair of arms were locked around her body. His arms. She didn't remember when she'd ended up in his embrace, only that she had fallen asleep facing him. She contemplated what she should do. She had no idea what time it was, but a good amount of morning light peaked through the spaces between the blinds on his windows. She decided to let him hold onto her a bit longer, she didn't want to wake him. And she would not be able to move away from him without doing so. His grip was like steel. Within moments she realized her arms were wrapped around him as well. She was comfortable. And embarrassed. Now she couldn't tell who had held onto who first. But a part of her didn't care. She knew this wasn't going to last much longer because it wasn't much more than an accident. She rested her forehead against his chest and closed her eyes again.

When he opened his eyes and felt her in his arms he quickly shut his eyes again. He opened them only a crack and looked down at the woman he was holding, remaining still, and saw that her eyes were open and she was thinking. He was glad she hadn't noticed he was awake because he wanted to see what her reaction to their current positions would be. Her eyes remained open for a couple minutes. When she rested her forehead against his chest and closed her eyes he could help but let a small smile tug at one side of his face. He was sure she was exhausted and he could say the same thing about himself, but it felt good that she didn't try to run away from him. He wouldn't have stopped her, but he was glad he didn't have to watch her leave. At least not right now.

They remained locked in each other's arms for a few more hours of sleep.

When he awoke again he squinted at the amount of light that let itself into the room. He looked down to see that she was still sleeping. He looked at his clock which read 1:52pm and his eyes widened. They were about six hours late for work. His reaction got the best of him and he shook her a little.

"Bones, hey. We have to get up, it's almost two" He was whispering, she clenched her eyes before opening them and blinking a few times. She looked up into his eyes and then looked away quickly, embarrassed. Booth laughed "Please, don't start acting all awkward now. We were both freezing. It was a matter of survival" he winked at her and she laughed before pulling away, he released his grip and they both felt the closeness fade with their separation from each other.

Neither of them liked it.

They both got up and began to help each other make Booth's bed.

"I'm going to drive back to my apartment and get ready to go to work. Could you pick me up from my apartment on your way? My car is low on gas and I don't have time to stop" The excuse was lame but she wanted him to know she wasn't going to avoid him. She gathered the two blankets he'd given her when she was on the couch and folded them. She set them on the bed and Booth picked them up to put into his closet.

"Of course, Bones. How much time do you need?"

"An hour or so will be fine" She looked up and smiled at him and he smiled back.

"All righty then, I'll be there around 3:15"

"Sounds perfect" She walked from his bedroom towards the door. He followed behind her and she slipped on her shoes. When she reached the door she turned around and gave him a hug. When she pulled away he could see by her face that she was thinking hard about what to say "Booth, I'm not going to stop thinking about… you know what. Our relationship is still very important to me… all right?"

"I got it, Bones," He spoke kindly "Same with me" He put his hand on her shoulder and kissed her forehead "Now, go get ready" he smiled charmingly.

"Right" she smiled back "See you at quarter past"

"Yep" She opened the door and smiled back at him again before closing it behind her.

He walked to the living room and opened up the shades to reveal beautiful after-rain weather. The street was still wet and it was cool, but sunny. He looked down and furrowed his brows when he saw that his window was cracked open and latch was broken. A small area of carpet below the window was damp with rain water. This must have been why the apartment had gotten so cold, something that had never happened before. Booth took it as a sign.

While Brennan drove home she realized how much she'd enjoyed waking up next to Booth. Although she would never admit it to him, at least she didn't think she could, she liked being locked in his arms. She liked him shielding her from the cold and protecting her. So much was happening and she couldn't explain what she was feeling even to herself. Rationally, she wanted to be with him and she knew he would make her happy. But she also knew that if she were to let herself take that step, she would be running the risk of breaking his heart. She didn't know if she would be able to love him properly and prove to herself that she _could _love someone. Booth was different from Peter, or Michael, or David, or Sully, or Mark, or Jason, or Andrew. He was different from all of them and every other man she'd ever met in her life. He was Booth. And he wasn't someone she could just have fun with. It would be a huge, seriously thing if they were to be together and she knew that. But she still wanted it. She didn't know how she was going to decide but she knew she needed help. And she knew exactly who she was going to talk to.


	6. According to Angela

Booth arrived at Brennan's apartment at approximately 3:10. He walked through the lobby, to the elevator and rode it to the second floor. When he knocked on Brennan's door there was no answer. He pressed his ear against the door and could faintly hear her blow-dryer humming from inside. When it finally shut off he could hear her singing some song to herself. God, she had a beautiful voice. He almost didn't want to knock but listen to her performance. But it was almost 3:15 and he didn't want her to think he was late. So he knocked. Within seconds she was standing in front of him wearing only one of her adorable silk robes, cheeks still flushed from her shower. Her hair was freshly dried and he could smell the clean scent of her shampoo from two feet away. She was gorgeous. Booth didn't realize that he was staring.

"What?" she chuckled when he didn't move or say anything, but only stared at her.

"Am I early?" He blinked out of his gaze and smiled.

"No, it just took me a little longer to get ready than I thought. Come in, make yourself at home. I'll only be a few more minutes" Booth walked into her apartment, hands in his pockets and smiled charmingly at her. He walked to her assortment of books and found she had half a shelf dedicated to her own novels. He picked up her second novel and opened it up to the second page.

'This is book is dedicated to my partner and friend, Special Agent Seeley Booth'

He absolutely adored how she had dedicated her book to him, only him. Only now did he appreciate even more than when he first found out. He was smiling and didn't notice that she had walked up behind him. She saw what he was looking at and smiled as well.

"Hey, I'm ready" Surprised he slammed the book closed and turned to look at her. She was fully dressed and ready and he began to wonder how long he was staring at the dedication. She laughed at him and took the book from him to put it back on the shelf "Look who's cute now" he was surprised by her comment, it wasn't like her.

He felt things between them finally starting to change for the better. He knew it would probably take a lot for her to be ready to open her heart up to him and let him make her happy, but he was willing to wait for her.

"All right let's go" they smiled at each other and made their way out of her apartment and to Booth's truck.

They drove mostly in silence with the exception of random comments about work and the weather or the rain the night before. Neither one of them was uncomfortable around each other despite everything that happened between them in the last 20 hours or so. They were both glad they didn't have to be weird around each other. Booth was especially glad that she finally knew how he felt about her and was thinking them over. Maybe in time she would be ready to take a chance, and he would give her all the time she needed.

They walked through the Jeffersonian doors together. Booth's hands were in his pockets and he was slouching but smiling extensively at her and they were laughing about something. Angela and Hodgins watched them from the forensic platform. Angela glared at the two, like she was interested. They were hours late and waltzing in together as if it was nothing, smiling like idiots. She just knew instinctively that there was something going on. She watched as they turned to face each other. Brennan nodding at something Booth said and they hugged. Booth's face when from happy desperate and Brennan closed her eyes and seemed to look almost sad.

Brennan could sense her friend staring so after a few seconds she pulled away from Booth and smiled. When he walked off he didn't remove his hand from her arm until he was too far away. Once he was gone Brennan walked up to the platform where Hodgins and Angela were still watching and Brennan made a certain face at Angela that read "We need to talk". Angela was surprised cause usually she had to weasel things out of her friend but for once, she really wanted to talk.

"Hodgins, you can take care of all this right?" Hodgins smiled at Angela, knowingly.

"Yeah, I got it. You two go have your little girl talk" He smirked and continued writing on his clipboard.

Angela guided Brennan by her hand up to the lounge area. They sat down on the couch.

"So what's going on?" Angela looked more concerned than interested, which came as a surprise to Brennan.

"Booth and I… I don't know what's going on. Something happened and now I don't know"

"Sweetie, you're confusing me. Just start from the beginning"

"Last night-"

"Oh this sounds good" Angela smiled, now that was more like her. Brennan half-heartedly smiled back at her.

"Last night, Booth and I were in Sweets' office…" Angela's face quickly turned from smiling to eye rolling and pursed lips "We told him about our first case together. The one we worked when I hired you here" Angela nodded along "When we got to the part of the story where we kissed, Sweets got all upset"

"Whoa, wait, back up!" Brennan's eyes widened.

"You two kissed?"

"Yes… but it was six years ago, Ange. Before we really knew each other well past sexual attraction…" Angela closed her eyes and held up her hand, indicating Brennan to stop explaining.

"Okay, we'll just come back to that later in more detail" She winked at Brennan and waved her hand telling her to continue.

"Well by the time we were completely finished, Sweets' still concluded that Booth and I are in love with each other and we missed our moment, condemning him to later punishment for it" Angela sighed.

"Well he sort of has a point there, Sweetie. There is something more between you guys. Not only Sweets sees it"

"Sweets challenged Booth to break our stalemate… he asked me to go get something to eat after that, ignoring Sweets. So I thought it was finally over and we didn't have to talk about it anymore…" Angela started to look interested again.

"And…?"

"When we got outside Booth stopped and he told me he wanted to give us a shot. He kissed me and I think I kissed him back, but only for a second because I pulled away and told him no," Brennan started to tear up and Angela's mouth fell slightly open "He asked me why and I told him it was because I don't have the kind of open heart he does and he needs to be protected from me. I told him I'm not a gambler and I don't know how to change for him like that" Angela moved in to hug her friend.

"But that's not it, is it, sweetie?"

"No…" she looked to her feet "I went home and I- I couldn't stop crying and I didn't know why. I felt broken because I knew I had broken him and I couldn't stand it so I… I went to his apartment. When I got there he looked almost as upset as I was. We talked and he said we'd be able to get through it and he was sorry for thinking I might feel the same way about him. He said he should have known I wouldn't love him back…" Angela started to tear up as well.

She had been waiting for these two to finally admit they love each other and now that one of them finally did, everything was getting messed up. But she waited patiently for Brennan to finish her story.

"I told him I just don't know, that I wasn't enough for him and he disagreed. I told him I don't want to hurt him and that we both needed to think. It was late and you must have seen how much it was raining. So I slept on his couch"

"Oh, my God"

"That's not it…"

"What else could there possibly be?" Angela shook her head.

"Something was wrong in his apartment and it got freezing because of the weather outside. He came to bring me another blanket and I think I was having a nightmare at the same time. I know it had to do with us. He woke me up. When he saw how freezing I was he invited me into his bedroom because it was warmer in there. We argued for a little bit about that and we ended up deciding it was only logical… we woke up in each others arms. And all I can remember feeling is that I was happy. I don't know what's happening" Angela smiled through her tears and giggled. Brennan got a really confused look on her face "What?"

"Sweetie, I know it's hard for you to accept but… well, when you think of Booth, what do you feel?"

"I'm not good with feelings. But they're good feelings"

"Okay, and how did it feel when you told him no?"

"It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do"

"And last but not least, how did it feel when you woke up beside him? Did you like having his arms around you? How did it make you feel?"

"You sound like Sweets" Brennan smiled. Angela rolled her eyes at that comment.

"Just answer the question, sweetie"

"I don't know, I felt happy. I said that. I felt safe"

"Is it something you would want to do again?" Brennan thought for a long moment before slightly nodding her head.

"Yes. I think so"

"You love Booth. It's only logical" Brennan nodded and looked to the ceiling with sad eyes.

"What am I supposed to do, Ange?" Angela put her hand on Brennan's and looked at her with wide, serious eyes.

"Tell him"

"I don't know if I'm ready. I don't… I can't break his heart. And I'm so afraid I will"

"You love him. You've already… Well you've _basically _already admitted that. The hardest part is over. Now that you realize that, you can learn quickly on what that means and how to work into a relationship. A real relationship. You and Booth belong together. He's everything you want and deserve. And you're everything he wants and deserves. You guys have always loved each other. You just have to take the chance"

"I think I just need a little time to process all of this"

"And that's perfectly understandable. Just don't wait too long because chances like this don't last forever" Brennan nodded and hugged her best friend again.

…She just needed a little time…


	7. Better Than Ever

It was three weeks later. The team was investigating the case of a serial killer and they had found 3 of his victims, all females. The killer had a habit of torturing his victims first by beating them. DNA results had proven a male killer. He was still on the loose and they weren't getting very far.

Normally, a case like this would bring Brennan into the field without a doubt. But recently she had been avoiding Booth more and more and remained in the lab most of the time. Angela was sad to see her friend resisting the best thing that could happen to her, but she knew all she could do was done and it was all up to Brennan now.

Brennan was in her office going over the evidence, case files, and leads when Booth walked in.

"Bones, we have an interrogation. A man by the name of Don Ricci, Italian. He's got no alibis"

"I'm working on stuff right now. Take Sweets or go by yourself"

"Bones, you know we work best when we work together. You can finish that stuff when you get back"

"No, Booth. I'm working. Go without me"

"Okay, that's it" He walked behind her desk and sat down on it, he looked directly into her eyes very seriously "What is going on with you?"

"Nothing is going on with me. Why are you asking that?"

"You've been refusing to work with me!"

"That's not true, Booth"

"Bones, you haven't been out in the field with me for a month now! Something is going on!"

"It's only been three weeks!"

"So you admit it!" Brennan stood up and Booth stood up as well.

"Sure, fine. Maybe I just miss my lab" Booth shook his head and clenched his jaw, irritated. Brennan walked past him but he stopped her and turned her around.

"Don't do that, Bones, we both know that's not it! Ever since what happened you've been avoiding me! I thought we were moving forward but we I was obviously wrong…." His face turned from angry to sad "What happened to being partners? I thought that's what you wanted"

Brennan couldn't make herself look stronger than she was feeling anymore. She started crying and sat down on her couch. Booth watched her, unsure of what to do. She stood back up and looked at him through watery eyes.

"I do want to be partners. But… after what happened it's hard for me to look at you and pretend everything is normal" Booth face was flushed with worry.

"Well what do you want to do, Bones?"

"I feel like we only have two choices here" Booth looked to his feet and back up at her. He was afraid to ask but he knew he had to.

"And what are those two choices?"

"Either we be completely together… or completely apart" Booth lifted his head, shocked. Now he stepped forward and put both his hands on her upper arms. Brennan tried hard to avoid his eyes.

"Bones, look at me" she lifted her eyes and looked at him "I _cannot _lose you. You told me that you're not ready to be with me and I accepted that. You told me you don't know how you feel but that was weeks ago and you haven't said anything so I've also accepted that you don't love me. But you wanted to be partners it's too much to let that go. I can't let that go. I love you too much to let that go" He lightly shook her while he spoke. Brennan broke out into sobs and looked down.

"I love you" she blubbered it out and Booth didn't really understand. He lifted her chin and she looked at him.

"What did you say?" Brennan took a sharp breath.

"I said I love you!" She continued to sob and look at the floor. Booth's mouth fell open and his hands fell off her arms. He took a step back and waited for her to look back up.

"Are you serious?" Brennan furrowed her eyes at him, tears still streaming down her cheeks, as if to say 'duh' "Since when? I mean… how? When did you decide this?"

"I just looked at the situation logically, and that's what I concluded. Please don't interrogate me, this is hard enough!" She crossed her arms and stared at the ceiling then dropped her head back to the floor. Booth returned to where he stood before.

"Are you sure?" Brennan looked up at him, she nodded and sniffled. Booth smiled a little bit with watery eyes. Booth grabbed a few Kleenex from Brennan's desk and wiped away her tears. He handed her the tissues and she looked at them in her hands and sighed before looking back up.

Without fair warning, Booth quickly pushed her hair behind her ear with his hand, to the back of her neck and pulled her into his lips all in one motion. Brennan gasped into his lips but relaxed. She wasn't going to push him away this time. The kiss quickly deepened and lasted several minutes. Eventually they had to pull away and catch their breath.

"You didn't push me away" Booth laughed. He put his hand on the back of her head and lightly pulled her forehead against his. They were both still out of breath.

"I didn't want to hurt you again"

"Completely together then?" Booth looked at her with hopeful eyes.

"Booth, there's still a lot of discussing to do. We have to figure out how this is going to work and make it so we can stay partners"

"Then we'll discuss it. Tonight. After this interrogation. You're not still gonna back out are you?" Brennan smiled and shook her head.

"Get your coat" She pointed to her coat rack. Booth jumped a little and smiled wide.

"Yes, we're back!" He pulled his coat off her coat rack and slipped it on. He turned around to face her and stepped close to her "And we're better than ever" He kissed her quickly and they left her office.


	8. A Beautiful Threat

On the way to the interrogation, Booth explained to Brennan what made Don Ricci a lead and the evidence that they already had linking him to the murders. They concluded that he was the most likely culprit but were both worried they wouldn't have enough evidence to convict him that night or to even charge him to keep him from running. Once they got to the FBI building, they walked in side-by-side towards the interrogation room where they knew their suspect would be waiting. When they walked in, they were greeted by Don Ricci, who had an ominous look on his face until he looked at Brennan and smiled a little bit at her, suggestingly. Brennan eyed him wearily and Booth instantly knew it was a mistake to bring her along. They sat down in the two chairs across from the almost definite killer.

"Mr. Ricci, I'm special Agent Booth, this is my partner Temperance Brennan. It is to my understanding that you do not have alibis for any times of death?" Booth tried to direct the man's attention away from Brennan. He felt uncomfortable every time he took a glance at her.

"No, I guess not. But that doesn't mean I killed them" His accent was thick, almost as if he was faking it. It creeped them both out.

"Well Mr. Ricci, we have agents searching your apartment right now. We found evidence linking you to the three victims and sure enough we'll find forensic evidence linking you to the wounds and weapons" When Brennan said this, Booth started to nervously pick his nails. He knew he couldn't tell her not to speak; after all he was the one that wanted her to come along so badly. But he had a gut feeling that something about her being there was very bad.

"And we have a warrant for your DNA" Booth jumped in. He looked at Brennan with wide eyes almost as if trying to convey to her to quit talking. But she didn't catch on.

"You see Mr. Ricci, you're not smart. We will find evidence that will put you away" Booth closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, slightly shifting his head. _Bad move, Bones._

"You've got _nothing_. You see Dr. Brennan, I didn't kill those women. But if I were you I would watch out. For you are _beautiful, _and a threat to this 'killer'. Watch your back Dr. Brennan, you never know who knows what" Ricci winked at her and Booth couldn't take it anymore.

"Okay, Mr. Ricci, this interrogation is over" He gestured Brennan to stand by gently pulling her arm. They exited leaving Ricci sitting alone. Once they exited Booth pulled Brennan over close to a wall.

"I did not like that" She crossed her arms and stared back in the direction of where Ricci still sat "Do you think he just threatened my life?"

"I don't know Bones, it's not always easy to read people like him. We might not have enough evidence for him to stay here over night until the tactical team can thoroughly go through our evidence what they find and send it to the lab" Booth sighed and slouched his shoulders, he looked into her eyes. "Look, I know we haven't had the time do discuss our situation and we haven't really decided anything, but I think you're spending the night at my apartment again tonight, okay Bones?" She nodded nervously and sighed as well.

"He said… He said you never know who knows what. You think he might know where I live?"

"It's a possibility. Or he might be able to find out, who knows? Or we could be overreacting. But either way, I think you're safer with me" Brennan half smiled at what Booth said.

He didn't say _you're safer at my place _he said _you're safer with me. _She believed him, too. She knew he would protect her and after what happened with Kenton, after the Grave Digger, and after Dr. Leecock, she learned anything could happen and she was never completely clear of the danger her job put her in. But with Booth, she knew she could feel safe and protected, after all he had saved her life all those times. Take him away for mere seconds to minutes, she would be dead. She hadn't really thought much when she moved in. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him close to her.

"Thanks, Booth. I believe you" Booth wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"I'm glad, Bones" He kissed the top of her head. When he looked up he saw Ricci being escorted by an Agent. Brennan looked up at him as well, their arms will still wrapped around each other. Ricci gave Brennan and evil smile and winked. When she saw this she clutched Booth's jacket in her hand and looked away. Booth continued to stare angrily at him. Once he was gone, he looked down at Brennan.

It was so strange to see her so vulnerable. He started to wonder if some of the ignorance she portrayed in earlier years was just another wall that he had broken through. She wasn't afraid anymore to show him she was worried, But he knew she was strong and she would be okay, it was just a long, incredibly weird day. Week, for that matter.

"It's okay, Bones. We'll get him"

"We always do, right?"

"Exactly" He smiled charmingly at her and chuckled before pulling her head back into his chest for a second and kissed her head again, letting his lips linger there for a few seconds and then let her go.

"Let's just- Let's just go to your apartment and talk. I don't want to think about this"

"Okay but we should stop at your apartment and get some of your stuff so you're more comfortable. We have at least a few hours until Ricci is released if we don't get enough evidence tonight"

"All right let's go"

Brennan and Booth were driving in silence when Booth looked at Brennan. Her face looked like she was in deep thought and he was afraid she was thinking about Ricci so he decided to talk to her to keep her mind off of him.

"Hey, so I found out why it was so cold in my apartment last night" He touched her arm when he started speaking to better grasp her attention. She blinked and looked at him.

"Broken heater?"

"Nope. The window in the living room was busted. There wasn't a lot of wind so I guess we just didn't notice. And it's never happened before"

"Interesting" Brennan nodded and Booth smiled at her "What?"

"I don't know I just find it more than interesting"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean my window has never had a problem like that before. The whole thing was cracked and the crank is busted. I have no idea how it could have happened"

"Well I mean, your apartment is old and if the place is not properly inspected once in a while, rain water and snow could easily wear away-" Booth put his hand up indicating for her to refrain from her explanation.

"I got it, Bones. I'm just saying it's never happened before"

"Well I remember a man once saying everything happens eventually" She smiled at him and winked. He smiled so brilliantly that his eyes smiled as well.

"Bones, you just made a pun!" Brennan face turned quickly to confused.

"How so?" Booth just smiled sweetly at her and returned his eyes to the road, flicking his blinker to get off the highway.

"I love you, Bones"

"I love you, too"


	9. We Have a Job to Do

When Brennan and Booth got to her apartment they immediately started packing some of her stuff.

"God, Booth I feel ridiculous. It's like I'm running away and that's not like me" Booth went into Brennan's closet and started to help her get some clothes out. He folded a pair of her jeans and handed them to her.

"I know it's not, Bones. But better safe than sorry. And I really want to keep you safe this time"

"I guess so, but I mean isn't there any other options other than hiding? Isn't there anything you can do to keep Ricci in jail at least for the rest of the night and tomorrow? That would sure give us enough time and after all he did threaten me"

"Bones, you and I both know that was a threat but it wasn't direct enough to keep him locked away. Besides even on the off chance Ricci isn't the killer, he was still right about us never knowing who knows what. People have tried to kill you before for what you can do. This is just an extra precaution. I don't want to see you get hurt again" Brennan turned to face him and smiled thankfully at him. He smiled back at her and their eyes danced. He walked towards her and set a few folded shirts in her suit case before kissing her on the cheek and forehead.

Brennan was suddenly aware of how full her suitcase was getting "Whoa, wait, I'm packed for a week here"

"Well it's just to keep you prepared in case you need to stay over longer. I think you should stay with me until the case is over" Brennan didn't feel like arguing at least not after the moment they had just shared. So she just nodded in acceptance and smiled.

"Ready to go? It's getting late" she didn't want to be too tired when they finally got to talking.

"Yeah, Bones, let's go" She zipped up her suitcase and was about to pick it up when Booth took it. She glared at him half-heartedly and Booth just smiled and put his arm around her back, leading her out of the apartment.

When they entered Booth's apartment, he immediately brought her suitcase to his room and set it down. When he walked back out he saw she was leaning against his counter, looking somewhat nervous. He went to his bar and fixed them a couple drinks before gesturing for her to come sit on the couch with him.

"Something wrong?" He handed her her drink and she sat down next to him. She held the drink it both of her hands, resting it on her thighs.

"No, just… there's just a lot going on"

"I know, Bones" there was a few seconds of silence between them, they both sipped their drinks.

"So where should we start?" she wanted to get down to talking.

"Well what do we need to figure out?" He leaned back and she looked at him.

"How are we going to make this work so we can still be partners?"

"That's pretty simple. We just talk to Sweets. I'm sure he'll be more than happy with the arrangement for it _was _him that told me to go for it"

"That's not really what I mean"

"Well then what _do_ you mean, Bones?"

"I mean… you said that you broke up with Cam because of how it affected your work. That what happened to her with Epps and the poison was because you guys had a relationship. What if this," she pointed between the two of them "affects our work? What if you're too afraid to let me go out into the field or vise-versa because we're too afraid of the potential consequences?"

"Look, Bones…" he straightened out so he would look more serious and sighed "There's always going to be potential consequences. But look at it this way, we already have a lot of love and care for each other and that's not going to change no matter what we decide. I don't see our partnership taking a dramatic shift in the way we work just because we've decided to be closer"

By the look on her face, he could tell she wasn't completely convinced.

"Bones, I want you to know that whatever you decide, I'm not going anywhere and our partnership will still stand. I'll always be here to protect you and I'm not going to stop caring about you. No matter what happens, my feelings aren't going to change. I've loved you for a while now and it hasn't changed our partnership except I work harder and I'm more protective by instinct. But that doesn't mean I'm going to force you out of the field and keep a squad of body guards around you 24/7. What I'm trying to say is things aren't going to change. The only thing that will change is that we're both happier" Brennan's eyes filled with tears and Booth wiped them away with his fingers. He let out a small laugh.

"Bones, look at you. I think I've made you cry a few too many times these past couple days" she laughed as well.

"I know, I hate how you can do this to me" She smiled at him and they laughed together. He lay back again and this time she went with him. She rested her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her.

"What else is there?" He closed his eyes and rested his head on top of hers, slightly stroking her arm with his thumb.

"Well there's the fact that I've never been in such a committed relationship before. The closest I came to was Sully but… you know"

"I know what?"

"Well, I cared about Sully, Booth. But I didn't love him. And it's different with you"

"How so?"

"Well for starters I _do _love you. And I trust you with my life and my heart. I trust you won't leave me like he did and you'll stay true to the things you've said…"

"But?"

"But I don't know if I trust myself. Like I said, I've never been in a situation like ours before. If we go into this we're basically already on our 100th date. I'm afraid it'll end up being too much for me and I'll hurt you"

"Bones, I don't think you need to worry. First love is scary, but you'll find it's easier to love someone than you think. You've already opened yourself up enough to see it but now you just have to live it. And I'll be here to guide you through it all. I'm not going to rush you and we can still take things slow. I'll let you get used to what's already happening before anything bigger happens" Brennan looked confused.

"Like what?"

"Well you know, things like moving in together, taking trips, discussing long-term commitment…" Brennan nodded into his chest. She knew what he meant by long-term commitment for Booth was all about marriage and having a family. A thought like that would have scared her off but thinking about those kinds of things happening with her and Booth didn't seem to scare her or seem meaningless "You may not completely trust yourself right now, Bones, but I sure as hell trust you. You'll learn quickly that there isn't anything to be afraid of" there was a short silence before Brennan spoke.

"I trust you trusting me" She spoke quietly, as she was falling asleep with him. She shifted closer to him and rested her arm across him. He started nodding off as well.

"Anything else, Bones?" He spoke in nearly a whisper.

"Nothing right now other than I love you and I think we should take things slow. At least until _he _is gone and we can relax and focus on us" It took her a minute to get out her reply. They were both three-fourths of the way asleep. She clutched his t-shirt in one of her fists.

"I love you too. And that sounds like a good plan" no sooner after Booth said this were they sound asleep on his couch.

Booth woke up about an hour or two later. The apartment had plunged into almost total darkness for it was really late now. He could still feel Brennan clutching his shirt and he shook her a little bit.

"Bones, we fell asleep. Let's move to my room" She stirred a little and groaned lightly "Commooon, Bones. Get up"

"No…" she groaned again.

"All right fine" He moved away from her and stood. Walking around to her other side, he slid his arm underneath her knees and his other arm behind her back and lifted her. She must have been exhausted for she didn't even protest. She simply just wrapped her arms around his neck and let him carry her, her eyes never opening.

He carried her to his bedroom and laid her down on his bed. He took off her shoes and set them in front of the bed before setting his own beside them. When he walked back to her, she had opened her eyes slightly and was looking at him from under her lashes.

"What?"

"Nothing just… are we a couple now?" He crouched beside her.

"We're taking things slow, but I think we are" He smiled and put his hand on her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. She smiled a little before closing her eyes, starting to drift off again "Bones, you don't want to sleep in your jeans, do you?"

"Hm...? Oh, no I guess not. Could you go into my suitcase and get a pair of my yoga pants?" Booth did just that and brought them over to her. He watched her as she slid off her jeans, dropped them beside the bed and slipped into her yoga pants, her eyes closed the entire time.

She was beautiful in the darkness as well as any other time of day. He kept watching as she also removed her shirt so she was left in only a tank top and bra. Booth took off his jeans and got into a pair of his sweatpants. He helped pull the covers out from under her and laid them back over her surprisingly small body.

He walked to the other side of the bed and crawled in beside her. She flipped so she was on her side facing him and moved closer. She opened her eyes and looked into his. She moved her knuckles up and down along his cheek before resting her open hand on his neck. He gathered her into his arms and she kissed him. She kissed him deeply and their lips only parted to immediately be pressed back together. This went on for what felt like hours until Booth finally spoke.

"I think we should go to sleep now, Bones"

"But I'm completely awake now"

"Are you sure about that?"

"No, but I don't want to stop" she giggled and kissed him again for a few seconds before she pulled back and looked at him "I like this" he tilted his head down so she could rest her forehead against his.

"I do too, Bones" This time he was the one to lean into her and kissed her deeply "God, this is so weird" He put his hand on her face.

"What?" she laughed.

"You and me. Being here, like this. In bed. Kissing like our lives depend on it. It's incredible, but so strange. When I think about it, I worry that I'm dreaming" He kissed her again.

"Trust me," she spoke with her lips brushing against his "You are very awake" they both laughed and continued to make out in his bed until both of them were too exhausted to speak or move. They fell asleep with their faces just millimeters apart, arms wrapped tightly around each other.

Brennan opened her eyes to the sound of birds chirping and his warm arms still wrapped around her. She was happy to be waking up next to him for the second night in a row, only today nothing was awkward about it. Everything felt right. She looked at the clock and sighed in relief when it read only '6:45'. They still had an hour to get to work. She started to push a little bit against his chest, shaking him. He opened one of his eyes and smiled, slowing opening his other eye. He tightened his grip around her and kissed the top of her head.

"Good morning, beautiful" His voice was groggy but she found it adorable.

"Good morning" she kissed his jaw and nuzzled her head into his shoulder, smiling at how good he smelled.

"Two nights in a row, I'm a lucky man"

"Oh, trust me Booth. You haven't experienced 'lucky' yet" she winked at him. He chuckled at her suggestive comment.

"Slow, Bones. Slow"

"Don't worry," She pushed his arm off of her and started to move away from his embrace "We have to go to work, Booth. Get you know who off the streets"

No sooner than Brennan had said that did Booth's cell phone ring. He quickly rolled over to pick it up.

"Hello?"… "What?"… "Okay… Okay, thanks" He snapped his phone shut.

"What is it?"

"That was Charlie. He just told me that they're releasing Ricci in a couple hours… and…"

"And what, Booth?"

"Bones, they found another body. And they found evidence of two killers. My gut is telling me Ricci has an accomplice, or Ricci is an accomplice" A look of great worry washed over Brennan's face and Booth could see she was near tears. He rushed towards her and wrapped his arms around her.

"It's okay, Bones. Don't be afraid. We're prepared this time" Brennan broke into quiet sobs.

"It's not about that, Booth. It's about these four women. It's about us not being able to get enough evidence to arrest. It's about us not being able to think because he's out there. I want him away; I want him gone. So we can relax. So we can focus…" Booth just continued to hold her and rub her back. Soon she was just breathing heavily into his chest, calming herself down.

"Hey," He moved his head back so he could look down at her "I _promise _you. One way or another we will win this, all right? It's just like any other case"

"Booth… I know that. But, I don't know" She looked down to her feet and began to cry again.

"What?" She looked back up into his eyes, sadly and shook her head.

"This is what I was afraid of"

"What are you talking about?"

"Us being together is compromising the way I look at things. I'm worrying much more than I should be…"

"It might take some getting used to"

"But what we do everyday doesn't allow time to re-acclimate ourselves…"

"Please don't change your mind, not when everything is so perfect" his eyes were welling up.

"But it isn't perfect, Booth. I think we just need some more time to think about this. Decide if it's worth it. We really just need to finish this case"

"You're more than worth it, Bones. _We're _more than worth it"

"We have a job to do, Booth. I don't disagree with you. But we have a job to do"


	10. You Never Know Who Knows What

Booth drove Brennan back to her apartment so she could get her car and drive to the Jeffersonian separately. He didn't quite understand why she wanted to drive herself to work especially if she was planning on spending the night at his apartment until the case was over. He guessed she just needed some alone time to think. He hated leaving her alone when she was in danger but he knew he couldn't argue with her. When he dropped her off he saw her get right into her car and drive off. He drove back to his apartment to eat quickly and change.

Booth had been sitting in his office working on paper work for a few hours when he received a call about new evidence and was told to come to the Jeffersonian. When he arrived he saw Cam, Angela and Hodgins all working on the forensic platform. He swiped his card and walked up the small flight of stairs to the three.

"Where's Bones?" The three looked at each other with confused looks.

"We thought she was with you this morning" Cam spoke for the three.

"No, I dropped her off at her apartment and she drove herself here. Her car is outside. She never showed up?"

"We haven't seen her since yesterday" Hodgins shook his head.

No further words were spoken before Booth whipped out his cell phone and called Brennan.

No answer.

He tried again and again.

No answer.

Suddenly Booth couldn't breath. He had to steady himself on one of the autopsy tables and Angela put her hands on his shoulders to steady him.

"I shouldn't have brought her to that interrogation, this is all my fault"

"Booth, sweetie, what is going on? What are you talking about?" Angela started to worry.

"Bones… She- she came with me to interrogate our lead. He subtly threatened her while we were interrogating him and it freaked the both of us out. We weren't sure if we would have enough evidence to hold him so she spent the night at my place to keep safe. We found out he was going to be released this morning… And now Bones is missing"

"Booth, we don't know that, there could be an explanation" Cam tried to stay calm.

"Like what, Camille? She's _never _late for work. She's always here! Something is wrong!" Booth was shaking and he rested his hands on his knees to try and catch his breath.

Soon, all their cell phones were out. Calling everyone including Russ, Max, all of Brennan's martial arts and yoga studios, restaurants, her cell; anything they could think of. Nothing.

Soon, two hours had passed. Not a work from Brennan. Booth finally decided to go with Angela and Hodgins to Brennan's apartment to see if they could find anything there. He knew he had seen her go straight to her car and drive away but maybe he had followed her out. When they got to Brennan's apartment, Booth was horrified at what he found.

A note was taped to her door. A note to Booth.

_**Special Agent Booth,**_

_**You never know who knows what. She has less than 10 hours. Good luck.**_

Booth's legs gave out and he fell to his knees. Angela and Hodgins helped pull him up and get him back to his truck. Hodgins got into the drivers seat and they had Booth sit in the passengers. He wasn't fit to drive right now.

.***

She remembered getting out of her car and walking towards the Jeffersonian. And now she was sitting in the dark, blind folded, and tied by her hands and feet. She was freezing and the only thing she could hear was her own breathing. By the smell of the room and the way the ground felt when she dug her heals into it, she was sitting on a dirt floor. She didn't know where she was, but she knew who had taken her.

_It had to be him. _She kept thinking to herself.

She heard a heavy door open and footsteps coming towards her. No one spoke to her. All of the sudden she was being kicked and punched in the legs, arms and back until she felt like she was going to pass out. Finally, she heard footsteps walking away from her and the door opening and closing. The worst pain was in her legs. And she just laid still, terrified. She thought of Booth. And how she regretted telling him she needed more time. How she regretted taking another car to work. How the only thing she wanted was to see him and hold onto him, let him know how much she loved him, let him know she was never going to hurt him again and make him happy for the rest of his life.

Then everything went dark. For the pain was too much and she passed out.

Back at the Jeffersonian, Booth wasn't doing so good. He could barely speak. All he could think about was finding her, holding her, and never letting her go. The squints were making some progress, at least.

Hodgins had found out that all four women were killed on a dirt floor in some kind of cellar. All of them had slight hypothermia and fragments of steal in their skulls.

Angela had processed the information Hodgins had figured out and used it to come up with a couple scenarios. The best she had come up with was that the women were killed in some sort of storm cellar and moved to various places around D.C.

This was vital information, for there were not very many existent storm cellars left around D.C. anymore. There were a couple mostly in older neighborhoods and on the outskirts of town.

They ran this information by Booth and the four discussed what their next move would be.

Brennan slowly opened her eyes only to reveal more darkness. She was still blindfolded and on the dirt floor. She was inhaling dirt through her nose and started to cough. Loud.

She heard the doors open again and footsteps come towards her, faster this time. She was being kicked in the legs and back again. A raspy voice telling her to shut up over and over again. She thought of Booth to keep her mind off the pain. She knew he would find her. And she did so until the man left again.

Booth called around to see if there were any sightings of Ricci on the streets. He got a couple leads and had managed to find out he had been in a public library using the internet earlier that day. He had the manager check the history and found that he had used to computer to access information to Brennan's address.

He thought he might call Brennan's apartment complex and ask if anyone had seen him, but what would be the point? He knew he was there and now he just needed to figure out where he was.

Angela and Hodgins worked as fast as they could to find the possible whereabouts of Brennan and her abductor(s). They fixed in a few different variables such as storm cellars, the time it would take to drive her to these locations and the approximate time she was taken. They came up with two possible locations for where she might have been taken. If they were extremely lucky, they would find her in one of these places.

They gave the two locations to Booth and he quickly chose which one to go to first. One was a house in an old neighborhood that had a cellar and the other an abandoned farm building. With his gut in overdrive, he got into his truck, turned on the siren and drove like a maniac to this abandoned farm. He called an ambulance to meet him.

She lay completely still, she hadn't moved in what felt like hours. Every once in a while he would come back to where she lay and continue to beat her. She couldn't cry, she could barely breath. The only thing she had enough strength to do was think of Booth.

_He'll be here soon. _

She was freezing and she didn't understand why it was so cold. She had to be underground. Underground on a dirt floor. Being tied up and unable to move, she started to think this is what it would be like to be buried alive. She had been buried alive before, but in a car. She could move. Hodgins was there and at least then she had found some comfort in the fact she wasn't alone. She started to think about how she had been seconds away from dying but Booth had saved her. He didn't have her or Hodgins to help him but he still found her. The most they had done was send a message about the dirt around them. But Hodgins was with Booth now and she knew in her heart they would find her.

She thought and thought, trying to comfort herself when the door opened again.

He arrived at the farm building and as soon as he left his car, he knew she was there. He could feel it. He could feel her pain surrounding the building. He made his way right up alongside the building and held kept his finger on the trigger of his gun. He carefully made his way around, looking for a cellar. He stopped and listened. He could hear a cellar door open and close around the other side. He ran towards the noise, gun cocked and ready to fire. He saw the cellar and listened. He could hear a man grunting inside. He opened the door and saw her laying on the floor, helpless and by the way she was trembling hysterically, she was terrified. With no warning he fired several shots at the man beating the love of his life senseless.

Kick. Kick. Kick. The man was grunting as he kicked her and she felt like she was going to die. But she held on. She heard the door open again. But he was still kicking her.

_His accomplice._

Suddenly she felt more terrified than before. She wouldn't be able to survive two against one.

Gunshots.

Thud.

The kicking stopped.

She mustered up all the strength she had left in her when she heard another set of feet running towards her and felt two hands grab her. She moved back wards by digging her heals into the dirt floor. She was confused and didn't know what was happening.

"Get away from me! Stop, leave me alone!" She yelled as loud as her voice would let her. The arms followed her and wrapped around her and she shook until the person spoke.

"Bones, Bones! Baby, sweetie, it's me! It's only me, shhh, I'm right here. It's Booth, just Booth" She stopped yelling her voluntary shaking and remained silent. She wasn't sure if she was dreaming or hallucinating.

He gingerly removed her blindfold and when she looked into his eyes, she fell into his body and began to cry. She looked to see Ricci in a pool of blood a few feet away from her and Booth. It didn't faze her. She just held onto Booth. He untied her hands and feet before gathering her onto his lap and in his arms and rocked her. It was then his adrenalin started to ware off and he realized how ridiculously freezing it was down there. He took of his coat and wrapped it around her.

"Booth…" She choked out. She remembered the first time she slept in his bed and how he had held her to shield her from the cold "Booth…"

"Shhh… I've got you, it's all over. Everything is gonna be okay. I'm here" He continued to rock her "We have to get you out of here"

"I can't walk" She cried into his dress shirt. She had no idea of the extent of her injuries, but she knew she sure as hell wouldn't be able to stand up on her own.

"I've got you" He very carefully set her back down on the ground and walked to the door. She watched him open up the doors and she realized she was in a storm cellar. He left them open and walked back to her and picked her up. He managed to get out of the cellar with her and set her down in the grass.

It was then she began to bombard his face with kisses. She kissed his cheeks and forehead over and over again. He took her face in his hands and used his thumbs to wipe some of the dirt from her eyes and face. He kissed her lips gently and felt tears stream down his cheeks. They heard sirens coming their way and she fell limp in his arms, her strength was gone and he knew she had to get to the hospital asap.


	11. The Waiting Room

When the ambulance arrived, Booth lifted Brennan up onto the stretcher and the paramedics took her away. He wanted to ride with her, but he knew he had to take his car and he would meet her there. When he got into his truck he quickly called Angela who was still at the lab.

"Hey, sweetie. Anything?" Angela was still overflowing with worry. The other squints, joined by Sweets who had been called when they found out Brennan was missing, crowded around her.

"We've got her. She's on her way to the hospital. I'm coming to pick you all up and we're meeting her there" The only response Booth got was a bunch of cheering and high-fives. He could also sense hugs being shared.

"How is she? Who was it?" He could hear a bunch of different voices asking the same questions.

"I'll explain everything when I get there. I think she's going to be okay. But she was in bad condition when I got to her. But I'd rather have her injured than dead. And she probably would be if it weren't for you guys," There was a short silence over the line "I'll be there soon" Booth hung up and the squints continued to hug and cry together.

Booth arrived at the Jeffersonian about 20 minutes later. They all drove to the hospital and Booth explained to the rest of them what he had seen, where she was and how she looked. They were all worried, but not as worried as they had been when she was missing. And they all knew she was strong and would pull through.

They all waiting anxiously in the waiting room. The squints plus Sweets all sat together but Booth sat a little further away, thinking to himself. His legs bounced up and down like crazy. When Angela had a chance to turn away from her conversations with the others, she noticed him. She walked over and sat next to him.

"Hey" She put her hand on his shoulder, and her other on his leg to stop it from moving.

"Hey…" His voice trailed and he seemed to be staring into space.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know"

"She's gonna be okay, Booth"

"I know that. At least I think I do"

"She will"

"I know"

They were silent for a few seconds and Angela kept staring at him.

"It's my fault, you know" Angela's eyes narrowed.

"What was your fault?"

"This. What Bones when through. It's all my fault"

"Sweetie, it is _not_ your fault"

"Yes it is, Angela. I came into her office and tried to force her to come. When she wouldn't I grilled her on why until… until she told me it was hard to look at me after what happened between us. I assume you know about everything" Angela didn't want to lie so she simply shrugged a little a nodded her head.

"But I don't understand how that makes it your fault"

"Because of what happened after that"

"What happened, Booth?"

"She told me she loved me. I told her the same thing. And right away I told her to come with me again. As soon as I walked in that damn interrogation room I knew it was a mistake. Now she's in the hospital in near critical condition"

"Booth, what exactly is going on between you two?"

"You already know"

"Yes, from Brennan's point of view"

"What's her point of view?"

"That's between two friends, Booth" she winked. Booth just nodded, he didn't smile.

"Right" He looked to his clasped hands in-between his knees.

"But I can tell you she loves you. More than anything. Maybe even more than she knows already"

"How can you tell something like that?"

"Who are you talking to?" She hugged him.

"I told her I wanted to be with her after we talked to Sweets about our first case. She said no because she didn't have my kind of open heart and she didn't know how to change for me. I didn't want to push her because I'm not that kind of man so I didn't try to tell her she didn't have to change or how much she's already changed, I just accepted what she said. Which I regret. She came to my apartment that night and I could tell she had been crying. She told me she had hurt herself thinking she'd hurt me. I nearly broke down in front of her, but I held it together. She told me she wasn't sure what she felt and that she needed to think. That we both needed to think. It was late. It was raining. We were both exhausted. I offered her my couch and she accepted. But later, I guess my window had cracked and the apartment had become freezing. I woke up and brought Bones an extra blanket and when I went out to her, she was shaking and mumbling, having some sort of nightmare. I woke her up and comforted her a little. When I realized how much colder it was out in the living room, I invited her into my room. After a bit of bickering on _that_ subjected, she accepted. Next thing I know I'm awake and I'm holding her and she's holding me and she's beautiful and I feel like an idiot but I was a man about it for her" Angela nodded along to his long version of the story.

"Three weeks. Three weeks I wait for something. She won't work with me, she avoids me. So I try to get her to come along on this stupid interrogation and you already know all of that. We talked that night after the interrogation and she told me we should take things slow. We fell asleep on the couch and when I woke up, I carried her to my room and we were basically making out in my bed for what felt like hours. We decided we were taking things slow, but we were a couple" Angela's eyes narrowed a little, interested. She hadn't heard this part of the story yet.

"But once we started getting threats and she started freaking out… She said she needed more time to think because it was going to affect her work and how she reacted to this psycho on the loose. That's when she wanted to drive herself to work. And that's the last we've really talked until I found her in that cellar… with him… beating her… like she was… nothing… like she didn't matter… like she wasn't loved to death by another person…" Booth was near tears and talking slowly to avoid them.

"Sweetie, she's going to be fine. Soon she'll be awake and everything will be okay. She'll tell you she loves you. You'll tell her you love her too. And everything will be fine, okay? I promise you"

"I do love her, Angela"

"I know, honey"

"I can't lose her. I don't even know what would happen to me if I lost her"

"You're not going to lose her"

No sooner than that had the doctor walked up to them. Angela and Booth stood and the rest of the squints came over to hear what she had to say.

"How is she?" Booth wasn't hesitant.

"Well, she barely escaped hypothermia. She's got quite a few fractures to her legs and the bruising is pretty bad. She was slightly dehydrated so we put her on an IV"

"Is she going to be okay?" Booth spoke very direct, almost stern.

"I think you got to her not a minute too late. She's going to be okay. She just needs time to heal up and take things very easily and slowly. She's very lucky. Very strong" The color rushed back into Booth's face then and he turned and hugged Angela.

"Thank you" he whispered into her ear before hugging the rest of the gang.

"Now it isn't visiting hours but Doctor Brennan has been in an out of consciousness a few times and has been asking for," She looked at her clip board "Booth" Booth's eyes widened and the doctor noticed "Are you Booth?"

"Yeah, yes"

"Are you her husband, brother, friend…?" Booth blinked a few times, unsure of what to say before Angela nudged him with her elbow.

"Uhh… Boyfriend. I'm- I'm her boyfriend…" Booth was shocked at his own answer "And… her partner" Sweets eyes widened and then narrowed.

"What?" He mouthed to Angela.

"Oh, calm down, you'll find out everything later" Angela rolled her eyes.

"Well, Mr. Booth. Do you want to come back and see her? I'm not sure if she's awake right now but you're welcome to sit with her and wait"

"Yes, I wanna see her" The answer was obvious.

"All right. The rest of you can see her during visiting hours which start again soon" Everyone patted Booth on the back.

"Tell her we love her for us" Hodgins said before putting his arm around Angela.

"I will" Booth smiled nervously. And followed the doctor towards Brennan's hospital room.


	12. The thoughts in a Process

He followed the doctor through a few halls to a private room. The doctor opened the door slowly and peaked in.

"Yeah, it looks like she's sleeping right now. But you should go sit with her. She's asked for you every time she's woken up" Booth nodded and the doctor extended her arm, opening the door enough for Booth to walk in and closed it behind her.

Booth stared at her a few feet from the foot of her hospital bed. She looked exhausted. But peaceful, to his surprise. Her heart monitor beeped rhythmically and an IV hung above her. He slowly walked over next to her bed. He pushed some hair out of her face with his finger before kissing her forehead. A tear fell from his eye and hit her cheek. Booth rolled his eyes to himself and wiped it away, which caused her to stir. She shifted slightly, her eyes were still closed

"Where's Booth? I need Booth" She spoke calmly, tired. Booth waited.

She blinked a few times and opened her eyes. She looked up at him, squinting.

"Booth?" she said groggily.

"Hey, beautiful. Welcome back" She smiled as best she could.

"You're here…" She tried to sit up but winced at the pain in her legs.

"No, no. Don't sit up" He pulled up a chair and sat beside her bed and took her hand in both of his. Her eyes were fully open now and they smiled at each other "How do you feel?"

"Better that I'm with you. Better that I can breath. Better that I'm not dead. At least I don't think I am" Booth chuckled.

"You're not" He kissed her hand "I'm sorry, Bones. You shouldn't be lying in this bed right now"

"I'm alive, Booth. That's all that matters. I'm alive and he's dead. We don't have to worry anymore"

"But still"

"But still what?"

"It's my fault. I could have stopped it. I shouldn't have let you drive off alone, I shouldn't have forced you to go to the interrogation… if I hadn't-"

"Stop, Booth" She forced herself to sit up despite Booth's objections. She moved over and gestured Booth to sit beside her.

"You sure?" Booth cocked his eyebrows.

"Please?" She mirrored his expression.

Booth stood up and carefully sat down next to her. She leaned forward, wanting him to put his arm behind her so she could rest against him. He did so, and she fell back. He wrapped his arm around her and gently ran his fingernails up and down her back. She closed her eyes. He put his other hand on her cheek and held her head against his chest, kissing the top of her head. When he removed his hand, she held it.

"Booth, this is _not _you're fault. Do not tell me it's your fault ever again because it's not. I don't want you to think like that anymore" She spoke seriously.

"But-"

"No, Booth. No buts. No objections. It's not your fault. It's no one's fault but his" Booth inhaled shakily and held her tighter "So what did the doctor tell you?"

"That you're going to be fine. That you're very lucky and that you're very strong. All stuff I already knew" He closed his eyes as well and stroked the top of her hand with his thumb "You just need time to relax and heal" She groaned. Booth chuckled.

"But I don't need much time… I'll be fine, I-"

"Stop, Bones"

"But-"

"No, Bones. No buts. No objections" He shook her very lightly, playfully. They both laughed. He lowered his head and she lifted hers and they brightly smiled at each other. Their smiles weakened at the same time, but never fully disappeared before they kissed each other. They kissed a few dozen times.

"I love you, Bones. I was so afraid I was going to lose you" He sniffled and she clutched his tshirt in her hand when he did. She shifted her head so her forehead was rested against his chest and her hand was parallel to it.

"I was afraid I would never see you again" She spoke through a small cry. Booth wrapped both his arms around her shoulders and back "I was… afraid I would never get the chance to tell you I'm sorry"

"For what?" He chuckled through his crying. What could she possibly be sorry for?

"For everything I've put you through. I was afraid I would never get the chance to say… how much… I love you and how… sorry I am for telling you I need more time. I don't want to waste anymore time"

"Then we won't" He ran his fingers through her hair, still holding her tight with his other arm. They were silent for a few minutes, breathing heavily together, calming away their crying. Brennan shifted her head so her cheek was rested against his chest again.

"What did you think about?" Booth asked randomly.

"What?"

"What did you think about? When you were in that cellar" Brennan was confused.

"Why are you asking me that?"

"Because, Bones. They're the thoughts… The thoughts in a process that changes who we are, what we think about others, how we live our lives"

"You already know"

"Not everything. You know that" Brennan took a minute to think.

"I thought about… I thought about what things would be like. What things would be like if we were together. I mean together, together. With no doubts and real commitment. What our life would be like. I thought about it while he hurt me. About… How I knew you would find me. About my trust and faith in you. It took some of the pain away" Booth felt a tear escape from his eye. The thought and memory of him doing what he did to her kept bringing him down. He exhaled shakily.

"Hey," She shook him a little "Look at me" He looked into her eyes "I'm fine. Please, know that. I'm fine" She spoke softly, comfortingly.

"It just hurts me to know he could hurt you like that and not feel anything. Not care"

"I know, Booth. But I'll be okay. As long as I have you, nothing else matters… I'm safe. I feel safe" He kissed her forehead and then her temple. She laid her head back down "What did _you_ think about? While I was missing"

"When I realized it, I couldn't breath. I didn't know what to think. Later, when we were waiting I thought about what we've already been through. Since we first met. How far we've come. About how much I wanted to hold you and tell you that everything is okay and that I love you… And I got that" They both laughed. She looped her arm under his and back up so her hand rested on his shoulder from behind, hugging him closer to her. They both closed their eyes.

"So… let's just stop all this back and forth. Forget the obstacles. Just be together?"

"I'm down with that" Without opening his eyes, he lowered his head again and rested his forehead against hers and kissed her, more passionately that ever before, putting all his love and affection for her into it, and she did the same.

"Awwwh!" A chorus of voices sang and Brennan and Booth looked up, surprised.

"How long have you guys been here?" Booth asked, not letting go of Brennan.

"Since 'forget the obstacles'" Sweets laughed.

"How are you, Sweetie?" Angela ran up to stand beside the bed and put her hand on Brennan's shoulder.

"My legs hurt a bit, and my back somewhat. But somehow I feel perfect" She looked at Booth and winked. They laughed and Angela kissed her on the cheek.

"Well we all want you to rest as long as you need to. Heal up completely"

"Don't worry, we've already discussed that" Booth chuckled "She's not doing anything until she's 100 percent" Brennan groaned but half-heartedly. She appreciated how much he cared for her. He pecked her once on the lips.

"You two just look incredible together. Even more perfect than I imagined" Angela squealed quietly. Everyone else gathered around the bed and carefully hugged and kissed the couple before the doctor came in.

"All right everyone, visiting hours are over and Doctor Brennan needs her rest. Out, out out" Everyone laughed and waved to Brennan and Booth as they exited.

"Well you two look comfortable," All three of them laughed "Mr. Booth, you're obviously welcome to stay with her if you'd like to"

"I'm not going anywhere" He smiled at Brennan. And the doctor chuckled.

"All righty, then. We'll keep you guys here over night and we'll check her condition tomorrow. I think we'll most likely be able to discharge you tomorrow and, Mr. Booth, I'm leaving her in your care. She needs to stay on bed rest for two days minimum. The bruising and swelling should be almost completely healed by then and it will give the fractures a chance to heal a good amount. If you still can't stand on your own by then, give it another day or two. It would be best for someone to always be at home with her" Booth could sense Brennan cringing.

"Got it, thanks doc" Booth rubbed Brennan's arm and patted it.

"You're a very lucky woman, Doctor Brennan"

"Thank you, I know I am" She smiled and the doctor left "Did you hear all that? Bed rest for up to four days? Someone always taking care of me?" Booth tilted his head at her and widened his eyes.

"Now, Bones, what did we talk about?" She groaned and he laughed.

"It's going to be okay, all right? I'll make it fun for you"

"How so?"

"Well it'll be like a super long slumber party. We'll get to hang out, talk, play games, watch movies, for like… ever" She groaned again but smiled after. She somewhat liked the idea.

"But what about work?"

"I'll call in sick. Or just tell them I'm looking after you. I'm not going to work until you're back to normal" He kissed the side of her head. She closed her eyes "I think you should get some rest now" She sunk deeper into his grasp around her.

"I agree" They were silent and she started to drift off "Booth?" her voice was almost silent.

"Hmm?"

"I love you"

"I love you too, babe"

They both fell asleep quickly.


	13. Your Place or Mine?

She was the first to wake up. By the way the sun reflected through the curtains of her hospital room, she could tell it was early. And if she could remember correctly, they had fallen asleep quite early as well. She was still resting on Booth, but had fallen down so far that her head was rested on his lower stomach and her feet were almost hanging off the foot of the bed. His arms rested on her upper back and shoulder, still holding her despite the new position they'd fixed themselves into. She lifted her arm and rested her hand on his shoulder, using it and her feet to push herself back up. To her surprise, her legs felt better than they did when she had fallen asleep. And it didn't hurt as bad to sit up. Now with her head more positioned on Booth's chest rather than his stomach, she kissed him on the cheek several times until he started to stir. And as soon as he did, she kissed him on the lips lightly.

He slowly opened his eyes, turning his head towards her and smiled groggily.

"Hey" He whispered, for his voice hadn't returned yet. He kissed her back "How do you feel?" His voice grew only slightly.

"Better" she smiled softly and rested her head back into his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes "I like waking up next to you, despite the circumstances. Nothing can really seem so bad" He tightened his arms around her.

"So you haven't changed your mind have you?" He held her a little tighter. She looked up at him with somewhat shocked eyes.

"Of course not"

"I just want to be sure I'm not gonna lose you. There have been too many almost-moments the last few weeks" He took her hand and ran his thumb gently over her IV, his eyes sad. She watched his thumb move back and fourth "And just thinking that I almost lost you completely last night…" She took his hand away from hers with her other and held it.

"Booth… Please, look at me" He slowly lifted his eyes to look at her and took a deep breath.

"I'm going to be fine. Things happen. If I had to go through this to get rid of Ricci then I'm okay with that…" she shook her head slightly, never looking away from him "You saved my life. You always save my life. Not just in the literal sense but also the metaphoric. I don't know who I'd be if I didn't have you in my life. You're not going to lose me. And I don't want you to dwell on this" He smiled at her and kissed her forehead then quickly moved to her lips and kissed them sweetly. He rested his forehead against hers and they smiled brightly at each other.

"Let's go home. Put all this behind us as fast as possible"

"Your place or mine?" They were still smiling.

"It's your choice, Bones"

"My place? I feel like I've deserted it" she laughed and he laughed with her.

"Your place it is" He kissed her gently before he carefully got out of the bed and stretched as she watched him. He took her hand and helped her pull herself up so she was sitting. They heard a knock at the door.

"Come in" They said it in unison.

"Hey you two" The doctor's friendly voice came from the cracked open door and she walked in "How do you feel, Doctor Brennan?"

"A lot better, actually" She lifted her hand towards Booth, gesturing for him to take it. He did so and sat back down beside her.

"Great! Are you ready to be discharged?" Brennan looked at Booth and smiled lightly. They both nodded their heads.

"Yes, we've made arrangements"

"Awesome, let me just go get you a wheel chair and you'll be on your way" the doctor said this as she walked out of the room. Brennan gave Booth a complaining look. He laughed and put his arm around her, kissing the side of her head.

"Don't worry, it'll all be over soon"

"Just make sure no one from the lab is still here. I don't need them to see me so pitiful" The idea of being wheeled around by another person annoyed her to the bone. Booth just sighed.

"All right, Bones" He took out his cell phone and called Angela.

"Hey Ange… yeah, yeah she's doing better. We're about to be discharged… No we'll be okay, I don't think she needs anymore eyes on her right now. There isn't anyone else here at the hospital that you know of, right?... okay, great… thanks, Ange… yeah I'll tell her… All right, bye" he clicked his phone shut "She says she loves you" Brennan smiled "But not as much as me" he winked and kissed her.

"So there's no one here?"

"Nope the coast is clear, Bones"

The doctor walked in right after that and she and Booth helped Brennan into her wheel chair. They wheeled her to the secretary where they checked out and to Booth's car. Booth helped her in and the doctor took the wheel chair back into the hospital. They began driving back to Brennan's apartment.

"I'm gonna drop you off and get you into your apartment. Then I'm gonna go home and get some stuff and I'll be back right after that"

"What about work?"

"I'm gonna take the next couple of days off. For one, you need someone around and two working is boring without you. It's all paperwork. I'd rather be with you" He looked away from the road for a second and smiled at her before looking back. She smiled as well.

"I don't wanna feel like I'm keeping you from your job, Booth" She made a guilty face.

"Don't worry about that Bones, I want to be with you. Like I said before, I can make it fun for us. And I'll cook for you" He used his charm smile on her.

"Okay sounds good, I guess" He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it before returning it to the wheel, comforting her.

"It's gonna be fun, I promise you"

"I believe you"

They smiled at each other once more and the rest of the ride was shared in silence.


	14. Brennan's Apartment

Booth parked his truck as close as he could to the lobby door of Brennan's apartment complex. He didn't really seem to care if he was parked illegally or not. He just wanted to get his girlfriend in bed as safe and as soon as possible. He got out and made his way to the other side of the truck and opened the door for her. They realized that they didn't have a wheelchair of their own or even crutches. It wouldn't really matter much once they got her into the apartment but it was the matter of getting her up there that put them into a quandary.

"I guess I'm just gonna have to carry you" Booth shrugged as if it was no big deal. He put his arms out ready to pick her up but she slapped his hands away.

"No way, Booth. That's way too embarrassing!" She crossed her arms, stubborn.

"Well what do you propose we do, Bones?" He leaned on his arm against the side of the truck.

"I can try just walking. It's not that far" Booth sighed.

"Okay, but be very careful" Brennan nodded nervously and swung her legs around so they were dangling from the truck. She carefully used her arms to ease herself onto the ground and stumbled when she tried to stand upright. It wasn't necessarily that her legs were so badly hurt that she couldn't walk on them, but she was also very weak from the whole experience. Booth was there to catch her so she didn't fall and helped ease her back up so she was standing straight. She made it a few steps until she stumbled again, almost taking Booth down with her. But he still managed to keep them both up but gave up on the fact of her trying to walk by herself.

"Forget it" He mumbled to himself before scooping her up into his arms. It shocked Brennan and she gasped.

"Ahh! Booth put me down… please" she almost whimpered, too proud to be seen as so fragile.

"Don't worry, Bones. I've got you covered. Just go along with me" He winked at her and didn't give her time to respond.

He ran into the crowded lobby excitedly with her in his arms. He spun them around and kissed her feverishly on the lips. A kiss like that would have usually drove Brennan wild but she was so confused that it didn't even faze her.

"I love you, Mrs. Seeley Booth!" He said that loud enough for the people around them to hear before running towards the elevator with her in his arms. He smiled a wicked smile at her and winked again. Now she understood and she smiled back at him, thankfully. Not two seconds later were they in the elevator making their way to the second floor where Brennan's apartment waited.

"That was genius!" Brennan laughed and kissed him on the cheek, still in his arms.

"Only now everyone here is gonna think you're married" He kissed her forehead and smiled.

"I don't mind, I barely know the people that live here. Only a few names"

Booth silently hoped that another reason she didn't care so much was because the idea of them being married didn't scare her. Maybe she even liked the idea, was open to it. But for now it was only a hope.

There was a short silence as the elevator carried them upwards. Brennan rested her head against Booth's chest and closed her eyes.

"I love you, Bones"

"I love you, too" She mumbled the words against him. The elevator dinged and the door slid open. He began to make his way down the hall towards her room as he carried her.

"Sleepy?"

"No, just comfortable" She opened her eyes and smiled at him. He kissed her nose lightly and playfully in response.

When they finally reached her door Booth's heart began to race when he realized he never took the note from Ricci off of her door.

"What's that?" She said while reaching her arm out to open it, for it was partially folded. Booth just watched as her eyes scanned over the short message "Oh, Booth…" She turned to look up at him, her eyes sympathetic.

"I found you" He said seriously, mirroring her sympathetic expression.

"You always do" She smiled weakly and he kissed her lips very gently. He ripped the note off of the door before fishing around in his pocket to find the key she had given him to the apartment.

He carried her into the apartment and headed in the direction of her bedroom. He eased her down onto her bed before exiting.

"Where are you going?" She was confused. She didn't exactly expect him to just turn around and leave before making sure she was settled down.

"To get something" He said loosely.

Not three seconds later was he back in her room with a box of matches and the note from Ricci.

"Booth, what are you doing?"

"Burning it. Ripping it up and throwing it out doesn't set well with me. I want this little piece of evidence erased from existence!" He wasn't super serious but she knew he really wanted to burn that note.

"Don't you think you're being a little extreme?" She furrowed her brow and smiled slightly.

"No I do not. I don't ever want to see this again" He swiped a match and held up the letter and they both watched as it easily became one big flame.

"Careful you don't burn yourself, silly!" She reached out her arm and opened her hand in a 'halt' sort of motion, sitting up a little.

"Ouch!" He dropped the flame to the floor and stomped on it. The flame went out easily and now there was just a pile of ashes on her wood floor.

"Smooth" She laughed as she stared at the ashes then looked back up at him "Satisfied?"

"Yes, I am. That felt good. Despite this burn on my thumb"

"Let me see" She gestured him over kindly and took his hand. The burn didn't look too bad for it was pretty small. But it could easily be second degree "Not too bad but if it blisters let me know so you can put something on it"

"Aren't you going to kiss it?"

"Excuse me?"

"You know… make the pain go away by kissing it"

"Correction, I don't know. And it's completely irrational to think that by me kissing your burn the pain is going to go away" She was confused that he would think something so ridiculous.

"Jeez, Bones. Didn't your mommy or daddy ever kiss an owie when you were little?" Booth pouted, his hand still being held by hers.

"Maybe but I'm not sure I would remember"

"It's a simple affection kind of thing, Bones. Symbolic almost that your love can make me feel better" He half smiled sweetly.

"Oh…" Her eyes dropped and he could swear she looked almost guilty. He lifted her chin with his free hand.

"Hey," he spoke just above a whisper "it's no big thing. Just for future reference" He winked and she forced on a tiny smile.

"It's not just this. I wish…" She sighed "I wish I knew things like that. This is merely an example"

"You'll learn. How many times do I have to promise you that?" He put his hand through her hair. She was unsure but she knew she trusted him.

"Okay, Booth" They smiled at each other before she took his hand and kissed where the burn was and he laughed.

"Tell me, Bones…" He leaned in closer to her and planted a big kiss on her forehead "When I kiss you here, do you feel better?" She smiled as he stared placing small kisses all over her face, trying to prove his point to her. She nodded a little.

"Mhm," She wrapped her arms around him pulling him into a hug. He fell onto the bed beside her and he kissed her cheek once more, hugging her back. He kissed her on the lips and started to pull away before she moved her hand to the back of his head, keeping him there and deepening the kiss.

They continued kissing for several minutes until Booth's head cleared and he realized what they were doing. Making out. They were making out in Bones' bed. He was afraid of where this might lead and it was too soon. Not to mention she couldn't even walk by herself. He sighed deeply before pulling away.

"Bones, I have to go get my stuff"

"Now?" Her voice was disappointed.

"Yes, now…" He looked down towards their legs and she caught on to what he was thinking.

"Okay, Booth" She pushed herself up and Booth followed. Once they were both sitting up he wrapped his arms around her once again and held onto her tight. They hugged for another several minutes which comforted Brennan "Don't be gone long, okay?"

"I won't, Bones, I promise. I'm coming straight back here. I'll call you before I leave my apartment" She nodded and hugged him once more quickly.

He hated leaving her alone especially after what she had just been through. He knew she probably was too rational to take that into account but it still made him nervous. He wanted to stay but he knew he wouldn't be able to survive the time he'd be spending at her apartment merely on what he was wearing. He knew the sooner he got packed and situated, the better.

"I'll be right back. Rest a little while I'm gone, all right? I've got some ideas for what we can do to pass the time. Like I said, I'll make this fun. Like a little vacation" He smiled and kissed her.

She felt extremely overwhelmed with comfort in knowing that she wasn't going to be alone the next couple of days. She couldn't express how much she appreciated him taking off work just to make sure she was okay and to keep her company. And the idea alone of being confined to her apartment with him sounded like fun. She was curious to what he would come up with to pass the time together. And even though she would never admit it, she was slightly relieved to get the time off from work. To bring in the new relationship between her and her partner.

All she had to do was wait the hour or so until he returned.


	15. Exhaustion

Booth came back to the apartment about two hours later to find Brennan on her couch reading some book. He walked over to the couch carrying a couple grocery bags with stuff in them, a duffel, and a bag of Thai food.

"How'd you make it all the way over here from your bedroom?" Booth asked her curiously, she had made it obvious that she was unable to walk. Brennan blushed.

"I crawled over here" She mumbled, avoiding eye contact. Booth giggled at her confession and kissed her on the cheek.

"That's my girl" He rubbed her cheek where he had kissed it, trying to get her to feel less embarrassed. Brennan laughed a little bit and looked at him thankfully.

"What do you have here?" She looked into the bags and could see things like books, games, Mad Libs and movies.

"Just the provisions" He smiled at her and began emptying some of the bags.

"I brought a bunch of board games including Clue and Monopoly, cards, Mad Libs, crossword puzzle books, some of my favorite movies and of course… lunch" He lifted the bag of Thai and she smiled at him.

"Thank you, Booth" she eyed all the things he had brought "is this all from your apartment?" She was curious seeing as she had never seen these things before, but then again had never really explored his apartment in the past.

"Most of it" He shrugged "I bought the puzzle books, Mad Libs and Clue. That's why it took a little longer than I expected to get back here. The cards, Monopoly, and movies I already had" He smiled sweetly at her and she smiled back, a hint of guilt written into her expression.

"Booth, you really didn't have to do all of this" He took her hand and casually held it in his.

"Yes I did, Bones. I want you to have a little fun while we're stuck here and introduce you to things like movies and pop culture" He winked at her and used his charm smile. The guilt on Brennan's face didn't disappear entirely like he'd hoped but he figured after a few games and movies she'd feel better "You wanna call Ange and see if she's up to a movie/game night with the best couple in town?" He shook her hand playfully and she laughed.

"Sure. Could you grab my phone? It's in my bed room on the night stand" She subconsciously pointed in the direction of her room.

"No problem, Bones" He walked to her room and grabbed her phone for her. He took a second to really look at her room. When he was in there earlier, he was more focused on the woman in there rather than the actual room. It was nicely decorated but not over the top and smelled of lavender and other spices. He noticed the adjoining bathroom and peeked inside. It was very clean and somewhat fancy. Clean white towels hung from a gold towel rack. The whole bathroom was white and gold and well decorated. He laughed when he thought of it being very Bones-like. He slowly walked out, turning off the light before exiting the room.

He walked back out to find her cheek rested against the side of her couch dozing off. He looked back at her room in question before sitting down beside her. She lifted her head sleepily when she felt him sit beside her. He gulped nervously.

"How long was I in there?"

"You tell me" she smiled, exhaustion was written all over her face, and her eyelids looked heavy. He looked at sympathetically and smoothed the hair on the side of her head, keeping his hand rested there and she leaned into his touch.

"You're beautiful" He said, the words came out less serious than he had hoped and she blushed.

"Shut up" She mumbled and smiled as he chuckled.

"I'm serious. You are a very, very beautiful woman, Bones. I don't think I've ever really told you that before"

"Not only have you subtly told me that over the years but you've also called me beautiful" Her voice was small and tired.

"Well I wanted to be very direct this time. I think you're very beautiful"

"Thank you, Booth. You're not so bad yourself" She joked before her eyes fluttered shut.

"Bones, you're exhausted. Let's postpone the little party for tomorrow night and you can get some sleep today. Maybe we can watch a movie alone later tonight" Their eyes danced a little bit as she was obviously thinking of an argument to her being exhausted, but with this fact being annoyingly true, she couldn't think of one. Booth could sense her over-thinking and came up with a way to justify the decision "Besides… I think it's a little more polite to invite them at least a day in advance. And tomorrow is Friday so they won't have to worry about work the next day" Brennan simply nodded her head.

Booth pulled out his phone. And moved from beside her to where her back was rested against the arm of the couch. He gently pushed her up and sat behind her. She moved herself down a little and positioned herself so her head was rested against his chest. He began stroking her hair, lulling her into a little doze. He used his other hand to dial a number into his phone.

"Hey Ange. Bones and I just got back from the hospital a while ago…Yeah, she's doing okay. She can't walk very well and she's pretty tired but she's doing a lot better than someone who doesn't have super powers" He laughed with Angela at the joke; Brennan was in fact the strongest woman he had ever met. He wouldn't be surprised if she actually did have super powers "We were wondering if you and that bug-obsessed husband of yours would like to join us tomorrow night at Bones' apartment for a little game/movie night…" Brennan nuzzled deeper into his chest and sighed, making Booth smile "Great! 7 sound okay?... Awesome see you then, thanks Ange… Yeah, I'll tell her. She's asleep right now but I'll let her know…Yep, bye Ange" He flipped his phone shut and set it on the coffee table beside them.

Booth moved himself down a little bit so his upper back was rested against the arm of the couch and pulled Brennan up gently so she was still rested on his chest which made her stir a little. She clutched some of his t-shirt in her hand and groaned. He kissed the top of her head.

"Angela says she loves you very much and can't wait for tomorrow night" Brennan inhaled deeply and nodded. Booth continued to stroke her hair "Do you want me to move us into your room?" He shook her a little as he asked. Brennan responded only with another groan "I guess here is okay for now" he chuckled and kissed the top of her head again and tightened his arms around her, eventually falling asleep with her.

He woke up to an ambulance somewhere near her apartment complex and glanced at his watch. It was already near 7 and he could feel Brennan still clutching his shirt and sleeping soundly. He gently got up, completely aware of the small ache in his back from sleeping on the couch. He ignored it and scooped her up. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest without waking up. He smiled as he looked at her peaceful face and mess of beautiful hair. He slowly carried her to her bedroom and laid her down on her bed like he had done when they came back from the hospital. He left the room to get his duffel and the cold Thai food. He put the Thai into her refrigerator and made his way back to her bedroom to find her sleeping peacefully under her covers. He undressed as quietly as he could and slipped into a pair of sweats and a white t-shirt before crawling into her bed beside her. He wanted to take advantage of an afternoon dedicated to just sleeping lazily with his girlfriend in his arms. She stirred a little when he wrapped his arm around her.

"The medicine has made me unpleasantly exhausted" She mumbled apologetically to him.

"Shhh" He pulled her a little closer to him and kissed the back of her head "Let yourself sleep. You deserve it just as much as you need it" Brennan sighed and took his hand in hers.

"I've also lost my appetite. But you haven't eaten all day, Booth. You need to eat. You always tell me that…"

"Shhh. Just relax, Bones. I'm not feeling very hungry right now anyway. The last few days have really taken it out of me. I'll eat later, right now I just want to stay here with you and sleep" With that, Brennan clumsily turned herself around so her head was rested just beneath his chin. She inhaled the smell of his cologne mixed with the scent of his apartment and snuggled deep into his white t-shirt and arms. She couldn't help but feel incredibly safe and cozy in his strong arms.

"I love you, Booth" Her voice was quiet and she nudged his chest a little with her forehead.

"I love you too, Bones" He tightened his grip around her and they fell asleep again quickly.


	16. An Almost Moment

Booth awoke to an angry roar in his stomach. He cringed at the feeling before opening his eyes. He looked down to see Brennan still sleeping peacefully under his arm. Slowly, careful not to wake her, he got out of bed and made his way to her kitchen. He glanced at the clock which read that it was only 9pm. He opened the fridge and fished out the cold, un-touched Thai food from earlier. He wasn't feeling very picky. He picked at it for a good twenty minutes before making his way back to her bedroom. He was surprisingly groggy and lacked a huge amount of energy. There was nothing else on his mind but sleep. He slowly crawled back into bed beside his girlfriend and wrapped an arm around her, burying his face in her hair before falling back asleep, hoping this time he would be uninterrupted.

The next day went by somewhat quickly for the couple. They had awoken early, finally feeling refreshed. They spent their morning completing random little tasks together like picking up her living room and cooking small meals when they got hungry. To Booth's surprise, Brennan was walking a little bit with minimal interference. But eventually they found themselves on her couch, wrapped up together and talking about anything that happened to come up. They were enjoying their private time together and finding out new interesting things about one another.

They had just finished discussing some of their random experiences in high school and college when the conversation hit a dead end, leading to a comfortable silence between the two before Brennan spoke.

"Booth?" Brennan watched as Booth fiddled with her fingers.

"Hmm?"

"I was just… I've been thinking" Her statement came out much more nervous than she'd intended. Booth immediately looked into her eyes.

"What is it?" His voice was filled with genuine concern.

"Umm… lately…" She was having trouble finding the right way to ask "lately, I've been really enjoying… how much time we've been spending together…" She looked into his eyes again.

"Me too, Bones" He reassured her, positive that she wasn't finished.

"And… um…"

"Bones, what is it?" He took her hand and squeezed it.

"I was thinking maybe… maybe you and I could… go somewhere?"

"Go somewhere?" If he wasn't interested before, he definitely was now "Like leave here? Go out somewhere?"

"No I mean… take a vacation or something?" She furrowed her brows nervously when she asked.

"You mean… you wanna go away together?" Booth could feel a smile making it's appearance on his face.

"Yes" She looked away from him.

"But you never wanna go on an actual vacation" Booth watched as her eyes remained away from his.

"I know but you love going on vacation. And I love being with you. I figure some time away from everyone and everything might be good for me… for us"

"Bones…" He made her look into his eyes by ducking his head "Is this really that hard for you?"

"What?"

"Asking me this" He chuckled.

"Yes. You, Angela and Sully have all made it very clear to me that taking the vacation step in a relationship is a clear sign of commitment. I guess, irrationally, I'm just a little nervous about it. But the step seems logical" She struggled to turn away from him.

"Hey," He took her face in his hands and made her look at him "You don't have to be afraid, Bones"

"I just don't want to move too fast. I mean you and Tessa were supposed to go to Jamaica and we both know how that turned out. We've been together officially for only a couple of days, maybe a couple weeks unofficially. And we haven't even slept together yet. And I'm asking you to go on vacation"

"Whoa, whoa, Bones" Booth stood and Brennan looked at him nervously as he paced.

"Booth, what's wrong?"

"Just so many things you just said… give me a second" After what seemed like an eternity to Brennan Booth finally started to speak.

"Tessa and I were not me and you. By no means was our relationship anything like ours" He kneeled in front of her and rested his arms on her lap "That relationship was going no where from the beginning. I never loved Tessa. You don't have to be afraid of me bailing just because things are going a little slow for us. And if things went wrong for some reason between us I wouldn't just bail nor would I just let you bail. Bones, we've been together for 6 years. Maybe as an 'official couple,'" He used airquotes "for only a couple days but you've been so much more to me than Tessa ever was from the first day I met you. A vacation isn't going to destroy us. As for the other thing…" He stood again.

"Not having slept together yet?"

"Yeah… that" Booth rubbed his eyebrows nervously "I just… um… I want to take things slow. You… _we_ have been through a lot the last few weeks. A _lot _has happened between us and after Ricci and what happened to you-"

"Booth" Brennan stood up in front of him "look at me, I'm fine. A lot has happened but it's mostly paid off in the end. Ricci is dead, I'm safe… you saved my life. I'm recovering fast and I'm moving on. I've been through worse. Booth, I've been through _a lot _worse" She spoke as convincingly as she could.

She respected Booth for being considerate and patient towards her but she didn't want him to think she was scarred for life or that she wasn't feeling better.

"I know, Bones. I understand, okay? I just wanted to take things slow for now. Look, it's four now, Ange and Hodgins will be here in a few hours. Let's just get ready for them and we can talk more about this later?" He took both her hands in his and looked into her eyes sincerely.

He didn't want her to think he was uncomfortable with where their conversation was headed, but he also didn't want to get too much into their discussion before their little party. Brennan nodded in agreement and gave him a half smile. He pulled her into a hug which Brennan accepted graciously.

"Hey," He whispered into her ear.

"Hmm?" Her voice was muffled by his shoulder.

"I love you. You know that right?" He continued to whisper into her ear.

"Yes," She hugged him tighter "The feeling is mutual" He laughed at her faux snarky tone and pulled away from her, smiling fully which made her smile as well. He kissed her once before beginning to move around her family room to straighten out any imaginary mess he found as her house was so damn tidy. Brennan moved to straighten out her bedroom.

When six thirty finally rolled around and the apartment looked more clean that in had ever been to the couple, Booth walked from the dining room to find Brennan finishing wiping down her already sparkling sink.

"All right, Hodgins and Angela will be here soon so I think what we need here is a plan. What do we plan on doing when they get here?" Booth started rummaging through the bags of activities he had brought over the night before.

"Hey don't ask me this was all _your_ idea. Your idea, your problem" She winked at him and he went after her playfully. He chased her around the kitchen laughing until she realized her legs weren't ready for running and fell to the floor "ouch," Her voice was quiet as she was taken aback by her tumble.

"Jeez, Bones, I'm sorry, are you all right?" Booth ran the few feet he had been behind her and knelt down beside her.

"I'm fine Booth, I'm just apparently not ready for roughhousing" She brushed off her pants and smiled at him. When she saw the obvious mixture of worry and guilt on his face she moved closer to him and kissed him.

He responded right away and deepened the kiss. She relinquished her control to him and he slowly moved forward till she was lying down on the kitchen floor with him on top of her. Their kisses became more heated and fierce as the seconds passed. Booth had begun to kiss down her jaw to her neck and Brennan dragged her nails gently through his hair when they heard a knock on her door and abruptly pulled away from each other.

"They're early" Brennan's voice was hoarse and she cleared her throat. Booth laughed and kissed her again.

"We could just leave them out there" He told her between kisses.

"Mm-m, no. You invited them, we have to let them in" She argued half-heartedly as she continued to let him kiss her. When they heard a louder knock on the door they pulled away and he rested his forehead against hers and sighed.

"We can finish this later I guess" He got up off of her and moved to the door, Brennan following behind him by only an inch. Booth opened the door and was greeted by a six-pack in his face and a grinning Hodgins, Angela standing behind him, smiling as well.

"Time to party!"


	17. Saving Private Ryan

**A/N: Hello. Seeing as I'm already on chapter 17 of this story I might as well introduce and start explaining myself :) I'm Teresa and this is my third fanfic I've written for Bones so far. I'm also on bonesfiction(dot)com. (I've only updated two of my stories onto and if you visit and find me (orangecrayon94), there is an extended version of my story "The Doctor in the FBI Agent's Apartment". I'm very sorry that my updates are infrequent and I thank my few reviewers and subscribers for staying faithful to me even though I haven't even had the decency to write you guys notes yet (I tend to forget on this website because I am used to the way of updating) But from now on I will try to keep up with the author's notes and shoutouts and thank yous that you all deserve. Thanks everyone! :) Another chapter for you!**

No sooner after his statement did Hodgins and Angela notice both Booth's mess of hair Brennan straightening out her clothes.

"Huh, looks like the parties already started, Jack" Angela grinned suggestively before moving in past the two. Booth immediately blushed and Brennan rolled her eyes and smiled, lifting her hands to smooth out Booth's hair. Booth took advantage of the way she was standing and playfully tickled her just below the ribs and she slapped his chest.

They turned to see Angela and Hodgins staring back at them, Angela obviously holding back a squeal as Hodgins just shook his head, still grinning.

"Dr. B, you look fantastic! Recovering quickly I see"

"Sweetie," Angela moved in a hugged her best friend.

"Yes, I feel much better. I'm very lucky" She looked to Booth when she said this and smiled sweetly. Booth returned the smile.

"So what is on the agenda for tonight?" Hodgins asked, looking curiously at the bags of games.

Brennan and Booth looked at each other, embarrassed. They hadn't discussed the actual agenda seeing as they had gotten distracted a few minutes ago.

"We were thinking a few games then maybe a movie. Lay it kinda low and relaxed" Booth grinned at the couple.

"Sounds awesome! I brought popcorn," Angela held up a box of microwave popcorn. She was pretty much up for anything seeing as the last few weeks had been nothing but work, worry, and more work.

The gang was about an hour and a half into a game of Monopoly. They had tried Mad Libs to get the little get-together off to a fun start, but Brennan, being Brennan, took the word game much too seriously and no one was having fun. Monopoly was becoming a little more successful, but all the while they were trying to help Brennan grasp the point of the game.

"That's ridiculous, Booth. You of all people should know very well that you can't just get out of jail with a little card. If this were real, all the murderers would be running free!" Brennan stared at her plethora of colorful fake money and randomly placed plastic houses and hotels.

"Bo-O-nes!" Booth complained "Common, just try and have a little fun! For someone who hates the game so much you're making a killing!" Booth looked at the stack of fake money Brennan had just been looking at moments before longingly.

"You know, guys, we don't have to play this game anymore. It's already been an hour and we all know how long a monopoly game can last" Hodgins tried to relieve the tension. Booth, Angela and Hodgins all nodded in agreement while Brennan just stared expectantly, waiting for a response, but didn't get one. She raised her hand to get attension.

"Uh, I don't" She said matter of factly. Booth chuckled.

"Hours, Bones, hours" He smiled "Let's just leave it here. Bones wins her first game of monopoly!" The gang all clapped for her and Brennan couldn't help but smile as Booth hugged her from her side and kissed her on the cheek. When they looked back up, Angela was giving them a girly stare.

"Ange, are you all right?" Brennan asked, confused.

"Yeah, yeah. It's just you two are so perfect for each other" Brennan and Booth looked at each other and smiled. Booth wrapped an arm around her "I guess all is finally right with the world" Angela beamed.

"Calm down, Ange. Or your face will get stuck like that" Booth joked but only received a glare in return from both women in the room "kidding, girls, only kidding" Booth lowered his eyes shyly.

"I think now might be a good time to start Clue!" Hodgins interrupted the awkward exchange.

"I second that" Booth agreed.

"I have to say, although it is a highly inaccurate form of crime solving and if people like us were to use this method, the jails would be empty, this is game is far more amusing than the others we've tried" Brennan smiled as she looked through her cards before Booth threw the dice.

"Finally, a game you can appreciate!" Booth rubbed Brennan's shoulder "Okay, seven" Booth began to move his piece "I believe… it was Mr. Green with the gun in the theater"

"Sorry, G-man" Angela held up the theater card while the rest of the group proceeded to cross 'Theater' off their lists.

"I believe… it was Scarlet with the gun in the kitchen" Angela guessed while the other three searched their cards. When everyone came up empty, Angela opened the envelope to reveal the three missing cards she had guessed "Whoo-whoo!" she cheered for herself.

"I guess it isn't a very lucky game night for men, huh?" Hodgins laughed while Brennan and Angela high-fived.

"Apparently not" Booth agreed and chuckled at the two women sticking their tongues out.

"All right, boys. We're getting close to nine-thirty. Should we start a movie?" Angela proposed to the rest of the group.

"Sure" The three said in unison.

"All right lets see what we have here," Angela began to look through the bag with the movies in it "A Nightmare on Elm Street… Booth, really?" Angela held up the movie and scoffed.

"What? It's a good movie!"

"Mhm," Angela smiled "Okay we've got The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, Field of Dreams, Angel in the Outfield, All the President's Men and Saving Private Ryan"

"Wow, Booth, you must _really _like your classics" Hodgins started looking through all the movies.

"I have not heard of any of these movies," Brennan watched as the other three started sorting the movies into 'no' and 'maybe' piles "I've heard references to The Wizard of Oz and Casablanca, but I am unfamiliar with the rest" Booth could sense a hint of inferiority in her voice.

"That's all right, Bones, we're gonna change that these next couple of days" Booth smiled at her.

"All right so Jack and I have narrowed it down to Field of Dreams and Saving Private Ryan" Angela held up the two movies for the others to see "Bren, you pick" Angela handed the two movies over to Brennan. Booth moved to Brennan's bedroom to retrieve a couple blankets while Angela made her way to Brennan's microwave to prepare the popcorn she had brought. Brennan and Hodgins remained on the couch while Brennan stared at the two movies.

"Both these movies seem like they would appeal to Booth on a very personal level" Brennan thought out loud which got Hodgins attention.

"You know, Dr. B, if it helps, Saving Private Ryan is a little less cheesy and would probably appeal to you more than Field of Dreams. But I agree that they are both very Booth-like movies"

"Thanks Hodgins" Brennan smiled at her colleague and friend.

"So!" Booth clapped his hands once in anticipation as he returned from Brennan's bedroom "What're we watching?" Brennan simply held up the movie "All right lets put it in"

"You better not start it without me!" Angela called from the kitchen.

"Don't worry, Ange" Booth called back while setting up the movie. Minutes later Angela returned with two separate bowls of popcorn, one for each couple. She sat down next to Hodgins while Booth took his place back beside Brennan. Both men were on the far ends of the couch while the girls sat in the middle. Booth pulled a blanket over him and Brennan and Angela did the same for her and Hodgins.

"Oh, the lights" Booth started to get up before Brennan stopped him, put her hands in the air and clapped twice loudly before the lights dimmed on their own. The other three looked at each other shocked "Since when do you have clap lights?" Booth laughed.

"Since I bought the television" Brennan said matter of factly.

"That is too cool!" Booth put his hands up, ready to clap before Brennan pulled his hands back down.

"You can mess around with the lights later, right now let's watch the movie"

"Fine" Booth pouted before pushing play. Angela and Hodgins just laughed at the exchange and the movie began.

**Please review! It definitely keeps me working. My inspiration for this story is slowly dying and I'm hitting major writers' blocks. I've literally been writing as little as one line a day to each of my chapters at times. Any ideas for the next chapter and future chapters is GREATLY appreciated. The idea of potentially sending the two on vacation is actually an idea from one of my reviewers from bonesfiction(dot)com (****peacelovebones****). But thank you to everyone who continues to read! If you would like to read this story with constant authors' notes and such, just go to this same story on bonesfiction(dot)com :)**


	18. Don't You Dare Forget

**A/N: okay so I decided to be true to my word and wrote another chapter for you guys before I go on vacation :) I made it as fluffy as I could and all though it's not much longer than the chapter before this I think it'll be a good way to leave off for now. Enjoy!**

Brennan's POV:

The movie was nearing its end and Brennan was overcome by about a million thoughts. Usually, on the rare occasion that Brennan would watch a movie, those thoughts would be based upon facts that didn't add up or things that were wrong throughout the film. Tonight was different; tonight she was silent as she thought.

Angela sat with her feet propped up on the coffee table, slouched deep into the couch, knees in the air with her head rested on Hodgins' shoulder. A few tears had escaped her eyes as the movie played. Brennan couldn't blame her, the movie was in fact a sad, serious movie.

But Brennan couldn't cry. Her thoughts ran so deep. She sat so her side was against the back of the couch, legs bent across Booth's lap with her head rested in the crook of his neck. She clutched his shirt in one of her hands as the thoughts raced through her mind, not pausing to give her even a single second to think them through.

"_Is this what it was like for him?"_

"_How many of his friends did he lose?"_

"_How did he cope while in the midst of things?"_

"_How did he get passed it all?"_

Thoughts like this just came into her mind one by one. It was no wonder this was on of his favorite movies. It wasn't hard to guess when she first saw the cover, but she had no idea how real it would all seem to her as the movie continued to play.

Booth's POV:

It was probably the 100th time he'd seen this movie. The first time brought back many painful memories but he continued to watch as it was one of the million tiny things to help him move on from his past as a soldier. Now as he watched the movie, he was barely paying attention to it as his thoughts were based solely on the woman curled up beside him.

He had always pegged Brennan as the kind of woman who talked non-stop during a movie about topics and situations that didn't meet her standards of reality, as she was a super-literal person. The silence that he was getting from her was a shock to him. He paid close attention to every small move she would make. The way she would clutch his shirt tighter when something big happened, then loosen her grip once the moment was passed. How when he looked at her face her eyes seemed to be glazed over, but at the same time taking in every bit of the scenes happening in front of them. He felt her muscles tense when something particularly sad occurred, responding by tightening his arm around her; that being the only way they communicated throughout the film, trying to silently tell her it was okay and he was there, alive and happy, without one regret.

"_Bones, it's just a movie" _He wanted to tell her this about a million times during the near three hour film. But he knew she would only respond with some sort of denial or an _'I don't know what that means'. _And he also knew that, yeah, even though this was just a movie, it was based upon things that really happen in the background. Things that ordinary people refuse to think about and soldiers cannot dwell on if they plan on surviving. He knew this movie might bring up previously avoided conversations, but he knew he would eventually have to tell her everything that he had gone through if they planned on being together forever. And the same thing went for her. They couldn't keep secrets from each other. Things needed to be talked about. And he had faith that in time, they would be comfortable enough to share everything with one another, and close enough to provide the comfort the other one was undoubtedly going to need.

The credits began to roll and Booth and Brennan silently waited for either Angela or Hodgins to break the tension between them. Brennan took a deep breath and closed her eyes, moving her so her face was buried in Booth's shoulder.

"All right it's really late, we're gonna get going now" Angela said as she stood up and stretched before looking down at the couple tangled up on the couch and smiled "Thanks so much for having us over. It was really fun"

"Yeah, really guys, thanks. It was a blast" Hodgins agreed "We should do it again sometime"

"Definitely" Booth said quietly, returning his smile to the couple. Brennan remained silent but still smiled up at them from Booth's shoulder.

"Sweetie," Angela smiled and leaned down to hug Brennan as best she could "You get completely better for me, okay? It's gonna be hell at the lab without you. And you," She redirected her gaze to Booth "You take good care of her. And keep her in good company" She winked at him.

"I will, Ange, thanks" Booth said in fake sarcasm before he smiled.

"All right, bye you two" Angela said as Hodgins put his arm around her and led her to the door.

"Bye, guys" Brennan said quietly before they heard the door close quietly behind their friends. Booth let his head drop so it rested on top of hers before turning it so he could kiss her forehead.

"Hey," He guided her chin up with his finger so she would be looking into his eyes "You all right? You're awfully quiet"

"Mhm. I was just thinking a lot, that's all" She replied in a sweet, quiet voice.

"I know," He rested his forehead against hers "I could tell. What were you thinking about?"

"Everything… Booth, I wanna know. I wanna know everything that happened to you. I think I need to know-"

"Shhhh," He kissed her lips gently "Bones, I promise you. I will tell you absolutely everything. And I wanna know everything that happened to you as well. But that's going to be one hell of a long conversation. And I don't think tonight is the night for it. But I promise, I won't have one secret from you in the end" He kept his arms wrapped tight around her.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Brennan let one single tear escape down her face. One tear that stood for everything she wanted to know about Booth, everything she already knew about Booth, and even the things she didn't want to know about Booth. Her Booth. She knew she needed to know everything so she could understand the things that made up the only man she had ever met that was capable of captivating her on every level. The man that made her feel safe physically and emotionally. The man that she was undoubtedly, uncharacteristically, frantically and completely in love with.

"I love you, Booth" She whispered just barely.

"I love you, too, Bones. And don't you dare ever forget that" He had meant for his words to be light and simple, but they had come out so serious that her breath hitched for a short moment, before his lips came crashing into hers.

Without words, he whisked her up in his arms and carried her towards her bedroom all the while kissing her hysterically, before gently lying her down gently on the bed. He moved so he was on top of her, extremely careful to keep as much of his weight off of her as possible, while still keeping them close and connected, creating a similar reenactment to what had occurred in her kitchen just hours before. His kisses began to soften as he took in what was happening. He pulled back and started placing feather light kisses down her jaw and neck before he reached her collar bone and she sighed deeply at the feel of his lips. His hand slipped under her shirt and rested on the soft skin of her abdomen and her hand raked through his hair. He began to tug at the hem of her shirt and pulled it up over her head. She repeated his actions and they took turns removing each others clothing and before she knew it, he was proving his love to her in a way that she would, in fact, never dare to forget.

She collapsed on top of him, her breath in a frenzy and her heart pounding out of her chest. He pulled her as close as he possibly could to him and began kissing her forehead repeatedly, whispering barely audible murmurs between his kisses of promising love and affection. Between her erratic breathing and her heart pounding in her ears, she was only able to make out words such as _'beautiful'_,_ 'love'_,_ 'never' _and _'baby'._

They lay in silence as their heartbeats and breathing slowed in perfect synchronization. Booth curled the arm that wasn't wrapped around her up and rested his hand on the side of her head, bringing her closer to his chest as she listened to his thumping heart.She moved her hand to rest on his neck and pushed his head down gently so it rested on top of hers. Neither one of them could speak, refusing to end their physical conversation with words. So they lay in silence as they just listened to each others bodies, periodically planting a soft kiss on one another, him on top of her head or face, her on his chest or arm, until they eventually fell asleep at a very late hour, their togetherness reaching an all time high.

**A/N: Reviews reviews reviews! :) I would love to have some reviews to read when I get back. I'm thinking of letting this story come to a close very soon and I'm not sure if I'm going to really include much of the conversation Booth promised her. I will imply that it happens, but I'll do it in a way that leaves most of it up to the imagination. Please let me know what you think about that idea and how the chapter went. Thanks guys!**

**p.s. The sex part was basically the farthest I can write sex wise. That part was pretty difficult for me to write just because I'm not very good at explaining what happened in a tasteful mannor. And plus I also like to keep my stories rated T :p let me know what you thought of it :) **


	19. The Moments They Share

**A/N: PLEASE READ, it will make me happy :) **

**All right, so I think my frequent writers block has subsided temporarily and I may actually be on track with this story once again. I have a few of the chapters planned out and perhaps even have the rest of the story planned out (thanks to some faithful reviwers who took the time out to really help me and give me detailed ideas… cough cough** **Piper4444205 and peacelovebones of bonesfiction(dot)com) And it has also come to my attention from some helpful reviewers that some of my grammar/wording may be a little off and I'd like to sincerely apologize for it. I usually write very late in the evening after working out at a gym (where some of my story epiphanies occur) so even when I reread, it does not become apparent to me until someone has pointed it out or I've already published the chapter and reread it and I find I'm slapping myself in the face for such stupid mistakes. I'm just letting you know so you don't think I'm illiterate or anything ;D and I also don't have a beta-reader which I believe **_**would **_**be helpful to my stories but I figured it's a little to late for this here tale, but maybe for my next story since I believe it will become far more important to me that it's the best work I can give you. But please if you do notice a dumb mistake and think it would help for it to be fixed, just let me know and I'll most likely fix it. If no one mentions certain mistakes then maybe they're not so important. But thank you, sincerely, for sticking with me even when you may be thinking "What the hell?" at certain points throughout this story. lol. **

**ANYWAYS onto the chapter. I apologize again if Brennan seems a little OOC in this chapter but hey, its fiction, and I plan on getting ALL my fluff out before I start my next story. Aka, my first attempt at something realistic/ suspenseful and angsty. ANYWHO, here it is :)**

**3B&B3**

_**One Month Later…**_

"Bones, what the hell are you doing out here?" Booth said as he emerged from Brennan's bedroom. He watched for a brief moment as she was successfully moving her various items of furniture around her living room. She was fully dressed while he was still squinting from the light outside her room, trying to rub the sleepiness from his eyes.

"Moving my couch and end tables to make room," She said as if it wasn't a strange thing to be doing at 7:30 in the morning on a Saturday.

"Make room for what might I ask?" He asked as he tried to rub the soreness from his neck.

"For your chairs and any other furniture you might wanna bring over," She smiled at him lightly.

"What?" His face was a mixture of curiosity, confusion and even a little annoyance, which, in turn, amused her quite a bit "What are you talking about?"

It had been one month since the first time she and Booth had officially slept together. Since that particular night, Booth had only spent two nights at his own apartment, when the couple had had a particularly bad blowout, and he ended up in his own bed after two straight weeks at her place.

The fight ended with her going to his apartment in the middle of the second night to apologize, and she ended up staying the rest of the night over there. They woke up the next morning to realize he had nothing but stale cereal and old juice in his kitchen and nothing to shower with. His clothing and toiletries had naturally accumulated themselves all over _her_ bedroom and bathroom. And foods such as Poptarts and sugary cereals littered her kitchen. It was that morning when a thought made its presence in her mind.

Brennan had been doing a lot of thinking over the following past two weeks and decided things between her and Booth weren't changing, although progressing quite a bit if anything, and she inevitably found it pointless that he was paying rent on a place he spent no time in.

The night before, they had gone out to a nice dinner, watched Casablanca on her couch, and had fallen asleep together while the credits rolled. Booth woke up about another hour later, as usual after a movie, and carried her to her bedroom without a word. Except this time she had woken up when he lifted her. He had gingerly laid her down and pulled the covers over her, unaware she was awake, got in beside her and put an arm around her.

It was at that moment that she realized she could get completely used to nights like that, simply no question in her mind about where he would be spending the night, knowing that when he said they were 'going home', he meant to her apartment, _their _apartment, and it would end with them falling asleep beside one another, like always.

She was surprised that he didn't catch up on her little hints that morning, but at the same time was amused at how, for once, _he _was the one that couldn't catch on.

"Well I mean, we can get rid of some of the stuff that would just clutter the place," His eyes just followed her as she spoke and moved around the room, his expression not changing in the least "But I figured with your amount of sentimentality, there would inevitably be a few items of furniture you're gonna force me to move into here," He squinted his eyes at her and slightly tilted his head. At this point, she was absolutely _amazed_ at the lack of understanding written on his face. He let his head and arms droop down, and rolled his shoulders back once. She crossed her arms watched him, smiling the entire time.

"Bones, will you _please _just tell me what you're doing up at seven thirty in the morning on a _Saturday, _moving your furniture around? And not so polite fully quiet, I'll add"

"I already told you Booth," she began to move around again, not quite ready to give in, seeing as this moment was just too rare and hilarious to end "I'm moving my stuff to make room for your stuff."

"But why?" He said forcefully and annoyed, gesturing his confusion with his hands, head still slumped. It _was_ pretty early, she would give him that.

Now, she finally made her way over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She nudged his forehead with hers to make him look up. She leaned in to kiss him softly and Booth wrapped his arms around her as well, slightly taken aback by the random showing of her affection. She pulled back and re-rested her forehead against his.

"Booth."

"Hm?"

"Move in with me?" She finally let the words make her intentions clear. She looked up into his eyes hopefully when the words came out.

"Ohhh," He said while he looked up at the ceiling and rolled his eyes, not at her, but at the fact that he had obviously made a clear idiot out of himself. He looked back down at her while she spoke again at the same time, he moved his hands up to rest on her shoulders

"I mean," He pushed the hair that had fallen in her face back slowly with one hand and kept it rested on the side of her face while she continued to speak without pausing at his actions "I know it's kind of soon, we've only been dating for a couple months or so, but I mean, most of your stuff is here, and I like having you," He could tell she was suddenly nervous as she started to speed-talk and kept her gaze directed towards the floor "I like when we fall asleep on the couch and you carry me back to our bedroom,"

He loved how easily she had said '_our bedroom'_ and how she hadn't even dwelled on her choice of words. He just stared down at her with a little smile as he let her continue to ramble.

"I like that most of your clothing is littering the bedroom floor, and how I accidentally use your shampoo some mornings when I'm too tired to tell the difference, because that just means it's there," At that, he wrapped his arms around her again more tightly and subconsciously smelled her hair and smirked when it smelled like his. Her arms were crushed comfortingly between their bodies, but she still continued to ramble without any sort of a pause "I like how after we had that fight, we woke up at your place and there was nothing to eat and how we couldn't even shower because your bathroom has already been cleared out, because it made me realize I don't wanna have to wake up like that again, and I want you to be here _with_ me if we have a fight and not off at some temporary getaway so it takes us longer to work things out," It was at that point she realized she was simply voicing to her boyfriend everything she had been thinking the past two weeks "I like the idea of being able to come _home_ to you or you coming home to me when we don't drive home together after work or kissing you goodbye in the morning when we aren't going in together. I like the idea of us cooking dinner for each other all the time, and cleaning the apartment together when we have to; getting to invite Angela and Hodgins or whoever to _our _place to watch a movie and play games or have dinner. I like the idea of this being _our home_. I love you, Booth. Move in with me," This time it wasn't a question but a statement and that made him laugh a little, as she had just made his absolute life with her speech. He was sure he had just fallen in love with her even more. He pulled back a little so he could look at her, but she was still reluctant to lift her eyes back to his and he could sense her vulnerability.

"You finished?" He said softly and she nodded, still looking at the floor "Sweetie, look at me," he whispered and she finally looked up at him and, to his relief, didn't seem to be offended at the endearment, which he found to be 100% suitable at that moment "Not only do I agree with _everything _you just told me," He paused for a short second "But I'm pretty sure I just fell in love with you all over again. I want us to have a home together. Of course I'll move in with you," He said it so comfortingly that her nerves finally relaxed and she took a deep breath. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her a few times before he pulled her back into his full embrace for a few moments, and pulled back again "But Bones, _why _seven thirty in the morning?" He joked, taking a little of the intensity off of the moment they were sharing.

"I couldn't wait anymore. I wanted to make it official. I was up thinking all night about how I would ask you. And it turns out my plan was a lot more fun than I expected it to be," She smiled cockily at him and he just smiled back, letting her have this one.

He chuckled, "I love you" He said it through his genuinely ecstatic smile.

"And I love you, too" she said before he leaned in and kissed her once before she pulled back quicker than he would have liked "But we have _a lot _of work to do," She lightly patted his chest with her palm to emphasize her words.

"Booones," He whined, going back to his original state of annoyance "I'm sleepy, and its," He glanced at the clock "Seven forty-five in the morning! You just told me yourself you didn't sleep. Come back to bed with me? Please?"

She considered the invitation. Now that she wasn't so anxious and the nervousness had been replaced with the relief and joy that he had accepted her proposal to live together, she realized she really could use the extra sleep. She simply smiled at him and he smiled back, taking her hand to guide her back to what was, officially, _their_ bedroom. She changed out of her shoes, jeans and blouse and got back into her lounge pants and V-neck t-shirt. When she crawled onto the bed, he noticed the bright stripes that were peering out of the bottoms of her pajama pants as he stood at the end of their bed, his arms crossed and a look of surprise on his face, but smiling just as well.

"The socks you're wearing look a bit familiar to me," she looked up at him and blushed, subconsciously pulling her knees to her chest but relaxing again when he just laughed. He crawled up on the bed from its end where he stood and began to crawl towards her.

"Booth, what are you doing?" She said with a nervous tinge in her voice, and he looked at her mischievously. Her eyes widened as he began to tickle her feet. She automatically jumped and started kicking her feet, careful not to hit him in the face a coiled herself into a ball on her side as she laughed hysterically "Booth, stop it!" She continued laughing which just egged him on for another minute. When he stopped suddenly and she felt him move, she turned over and opened one of her eyes to find him right above her, wiggling his fingers above her face suggestively "No!" She managed to cry before he started tickling her sides and neck and anywhere else he found to be ticklish "Booth, please! Stop! Ah!" She giggled and she continued to lash trying to avoid his hands. He finally stopped after a few minutes to let her breath, and he tickled her again for one second just to scare her "Don't," She warned, but ended up not sounding very convincing, as she was still laughing. He rested his forearms on either side of her, shifting a good amount of his weight onto her body and kissed her. She had her hands rested on his shoulders and pushed him back a little "You're evil," He kissed her again quickly.

"That's what you get for wearing my favorite socks!" This time she lifted her head a ways to kiss him a few times.

"I like wearing them. They remind me that you're my boyfriend and that means I'm _entitled_ to your socks" She giggled and they smiled happily at each other, their faces only a centimeter apart, while she wiggled her toes against his ankles. He puckered his lips and she pecked them in response, only to end up opening her lips a little more and they shared yet another warm kiss before they pulled back at the same time "Mmm, I thought you were sleepy," She moaned tiredly, their noses barely touching.

"I am," He said, not a moment before flipping them over roughly and she let out a squeal in surprise before she found herself laying comfortably on his chest, her cheek rested right below his right shoulder, her arm below his left. He had one arm wrapped around her and took the fingers she had rested on top of him in his free hand and kissed their pads, before she curled them around his fingers and he kissed the top of her head.

"I like this, Booth," She said quietly before sighing, letting herself sink deeper into his body.

"Me, too, Bones," He said before lifting them both up just slightly so he could grab a hold of the mess of blankets they had created, spreading them as best he could over themselves and laid them back down and kissed her forehead "Me too," he repeated.

And it wasn't long before they fell back asleep, both of them purely happy after the moments they had just shared, and excited for the new step directly ahead of them.

3B&B3

**A/N: I have to say I am particularly proud of how this chapter went. It was no doubt pure fluff but I had a lot of fun writing it. I hope you enjoyed it and please review... It sincerely makes me really happy and I'll get the chapters out quicker if you give me some inspiration :) **

**Here are some things to be aware of with the rest of the story: **

**I'm pretty sure that I'll be putting in slight jumps in time from here on out. For example, the next chapter may be a week later or so after they have moved in together, the following few chapters or will be their vacation, thank you ****peacelovebones****, (and suggestions on where they could go would be AMAZING, but try to think of ideas that would be more meaningful than say... hawaii or the bahamas), and then the one after those few will be probably 6 months or so later. And that will be the beginning of the end of this story. Where I will be using my own version of ****Piper4444205****'s idea to end the story. **

**Again thanks everyone! truely! I'm really glad I finally have this story figured out for the most part and I hope you stay with me once its over for my next story :) **


	20. What Happened Between them: Part One

_**A/N: So I've been working on this chapter for a while and it ended up being a lot longer than I had anticipated. So I split it into two separate chapters. If you remember in the chapter before this one I mentioned briefly that Brennan and Booth had had a fight two weeks prior that got Brennan to thinking they should move in together. I was thinking that if that fight had made her decide such a thing in must have been important so I decided to do a flashback so you guys could see what happened with that. **_

_**So some parts of the next two chapters may seem very in character and others very out of character for both Booth and Brennan. And maybe even Angela a bit. But if you know me at all as a writer, you know that that's how I roll :p SO LOVE IT!**_

_**One Week Later**_

"Bones, could you come in here for a sec?" Booth called to Brennan, who was in the kitchen cooking dinner, from their bedroom. Less than 30 seconds later she was in the doorway, holding a bowl with some sort of batter in it and a whisk.

"What is it?" She saw that Booth was holding a picture frame, so that the picture was facing his body rather than her. She didn't think much of it, given that she'd seen him with 100s of picture frames in the midst of his move. That is until he turned the picture around and held it out to her so she could see, to reveal an old snapshot of them hugging by the reflecting pool; most likely taken randomly by Angela. He set it ceremoniously on the nightstand next to his side of the bed.

"It's official," He said with a huge smile "That picture was the last of it," he walked a little closer to her.

"All of it?"

"Yep"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive"

She smiled as well as he walked towards her. He set one hand on her waist casually and kissed her.

"We live together," He whispered before kissing her again. As soon as the kiss started to deepen a timer went off in the kitchen.

"Mm," With the bowl still in her hands, Brennan awkwardly pushed Booth back gently "Booth, I have stuff cooking. Later," She said with a promising smile before turning around.

"Hey!" Booth called, Brennan stopped but didn't turn around.

"Yeah?"

"Love you," He said in such a tone that he was implying she should have said it to him first. She continued to walk only turning her head to reply.

"You too," she winked and continued down the hall back to the kitchen. Booth returned to the bedroom and looked around. He opened his closet to reveal his suites, ties, and tuxedos all hanging up on the racks of the closet, and the dresser taking up the rest which held all of his casual clothing. He was suddenly filled with a sense of appreciation and happiness.

Appreciation for that fact that Brennan had worked endlessly hard to make the move go quicker and easier for him, that she had been patient with him in deciding what had to be given up and what could be kept, and on top of all that, had given up an entire closet for him.

And happiness for the fact that when he had put that picture down and opened up this closet, everything became official to him. It was all really happening. He shared a home with the love of his life. And he would forever be grateful for it.

The rest of the evening went simply for the couple. They ate dinner, watched television, and ended their night with a certain activity they had been enjoying a great deal for the past five weeks.

The next day Booth dropped Brennan off at the lab. He walked her in and kissed her goodbye before he left to work in his office for the majority of the day. They hadn't gotten a new case that week, so he was confined to desk duty until something came up.

Brennan was in bone storage when Angela joined her.

"Hey sweetie," Angela greeted her casually with a smile.

"Hey Ange, what are you doing down here?"

"Oh, you know the usual; Hodgins found some sort of bug and Vincent found a possible murder weapon on the latest Jane Doe and now they're arguing over 'King of the Lab'. Cam got caught in the middle of it and I ran the hell away before they pulled me into it," Both of the women laughed and shook their heads "So, how's the big move going?"

"Excellent. Actually, it's all done," Brennan looked up from the skull she was examining and smiled at her friend.

"Really? That fast?"

"Yeah we worked pretty hard at it. We wanted to get the majority to all of it done before we got a new case," Brennan shrugged and Angela moved in to hug her friend.

"I'm so happy for you guys," she said sincerely.

"Thanks, Ange. I am too," She replied just as sincere.

"Well what about the two of you in general? How are things going?" She asked curiously.

"Amazing," Brennan replied without hesitation "I've never been happier. And I'm pretty sure he feels the same way. Everything's been great besides that fight a few weeks ago," Angela nodded, remembering the parts of that particular fight she had witnessed.

"Yeah, whatever happened with that? I know you two fought, but the next time I saw you after we talked, you were back to normal. And it all seemed pretty bad. I was worried,"

"It was very bad, what happened that day. But we did solve it and I'm certain something like that will never happen again"

"Can you tell me what happened? From the beginning?" Angela was surprised to realize she still didn't know what had happened. So she let her curiosity get the best of her.

Brennan took a deep breath, her eyes trailing to the ceiling as she remembered what happened, and began explaining to Angela starting from the beginning.

"Well, that morning we were eating breakfast and Booth got a call from the bureau…"

"**Hello?" Booth answered somewhat annoyed, seeing as he had just woken up and was working on a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. Brennan looked up from her bowl of fruit in interest, to watch Booth as he listened to whoever it was on the other end of the line. His face went from aggravated to more nervous, and his reaction did not go unnoticed by his girlfriend sitting across the table from him "All right. Thanks, Charlie," Booth said before flipping his phone shut. **

"**What was that about?"**

"**We have a case," Booth said simply, letting his attention go back to his bowl of cereal. **

"**Yeah?" Brennan said as she waited for him to continue.**

"**Mhm," Booth nodded. **

"**Would you mind… I don't know, explaining?" Her grumpy tone was obvious. It was early, and she wasn't feeling patient. **

"**Yeah, sorry," He answered half sincere and half hesitant "Um, a woman, found buried down in South East Virginia, brutally assaulted. The remains are being sent to the Jeffersonian. **

**Brennan simply nodded at his vague description, unwilling to argue more details out of him. Partly because she wasn't in the mood and partly because for all she knew, that really was all Charlie had told him so far. What she was more curious about was the way his mood had changed since the phone call. She watched as he now just picked at his cereal, that before he was going completely ravenous on. **

"**You okay?" She tried to make the question sound casual, as she popped another piece of diced watermelon in her mouth. He lifted his head and looked into her eyes.**

"**I'm fine," He said. His tone neither sincere nor angry or upset, making it impossible for her to know whether or not he was telling the truth. She just nodded and went back to her fruit. He got up and poured the rest of his cereal down the garbage disposal and rinsed the bowl "I'm just gonna get dressed. Let me know when you're ready to go," He said before making his way to her bedroom. **

"**Okay," Brennan said, disappointed that he had left her alone at the table. Once he was out of sight, she got up and put the rest of her fruit into a Tupperware container to save. Suddenly she wasn't feeling very hungry either. **

**They had gotten ready and into the car with barely a word to one another. The tension was thick as Brennan knew Booth was hiding something and Booth was feeling nervous about how things would go this case. They pulled up to the Jeffersonian and Booth stopped near the front but didn't turn off the SUV.**

"**I have to go to the bureau and start the paperwork on this one, so I'm gonna have to see you later," He hated the fact that he probably seemed so distant, so he struggled to make his tone as sorry as possible. He was sorry he wasn't going to get to see her for a while, but he also didn't want her to come back to the bureau with him. Brennan nodded, only looking to her seatbelt and unbuckled it, she shifted and was about to open the door when he leaned over the center console and turned her face with his hand so he could kiss her once "I'll try to be back here for lunch, all right?" Brennan nodded and half smiled before getting out of the car and heading towards the door. The fact that he had kissed her goodbye didn't make her feel much better, for even when he was planning on working the day without her, he would always walk her into the Jeffersonian. There was definitely something on his mind. **

**She walked through the doors and towards the forensic platform to find Clark had already started a preliminary examination on the new murder victim. Brennan put on her lab coat and gloves as Clark began to fill her in on what he had already found.**

**Angela had finished a facial reconstruction and Hodgins was examining particulates when Booth walked through the doors and swiped his card to join the rest of the team on the platform. **

"**Hey, so we already got the ID. Lorraine Lester," Booth's statement was directed towards everyone on the platform.**

"**Well then I guess you don't need this, huh, G-man?" Angela said as she turned the drawing she'd created towards Booth.**

"**No sorry, Ange. But hey, you did a good job," Booth smiled and showed her the picture from the file which greatly resembled the drawing she'd made. **

"**It's all right, don't wanna get rusty," Angela said, a little laughter in her voice. **

"**And we have a lead suspect I have to go interrogate so, Bones, I'm sorry but I don't think I can make lunch," Booth said, his hands shoved into his pockets; nervous about what her reaction was going to be. **

"**That's okay. We can go together and grab lunch afterwards," She said ready to take off her gloves.**

**That is exactly what Booth didn't want to hear. He lifted his hand to her so she would stop.**

"**Um, Bones, I think I'm gonna go do this one alone," He spoke to her quietly enough so only she could hear. Brennan looked at him, shocked and confused. She furrowed her brows at him. **

"**Why?"**

"**Because I don't think you going on this one is a good idea," He said somewhat sternly. **

"**Why?" Her voice became slightly louder and more aggravated, which caught the others' attentions somewhat. **

"**Because it's unsafe," Brennan put her hands on her hips.**

"**Booth, what are you talking about?" They were speaking normally now, so everyone could hear the beginning of their argument.**

"**I don't want you to come on this interrogation, Bones. This case is already exactly the same as the last one," **

"**Please, don't start this, Booth. Things are always going to be unsafe when I work in the field. If this is how things start, eventually you'll never let me go on interrogations with you,"**

"**That is not true. Do not underestimate me like that. Look, Bones, you just got back to work a few days ago. I'm not willing to put you into any sort of danger until you're ready," Their voices were slowly moving towards yelling.**

"**Who the hell are you to tell me whether or not I'm ready?"**

"**Oh, I don't know, Bones. How about the man that saved your life three weeks ago? The man that had to walk into a cold muddy cell to find the love of his life being beaten senseless by a psycho ass hole? The man that stayed out of work for you until you were well enough to come back to work?" He was definitely yelling now. The rest of the team had all gathered into a corner as far away from them as possible, watching helplessly. He would have continued had Brennan not interrupted him. **

"**You did not need to stay with me! I told you that. You stayed because you wanted to. I'm sorry you had to witness what happened to me but you have **_**got**_** to get over it. I'm not going to let this incident ruin our partnership!" **

"**How hard is it for you to understand that I **_**just don't**_** want to see you get hurt again?"**

"**Why?" **

"**Because I care about you!" He yelled and flailed his arms, didn't she know this? Brennan turned around towards the remains and stopped at the autopsy table.**

"**Yeah, well maybe you care too much," She didn't yell, but everyone still heard. She rested her hands on the table and looked up at the ceiling waiting for him to say something.**

**The rest of the team's eyes widened when Booth clenched his jaw and tightened his hands into fists, then unclenched them and moved towards her. Pulling her arm so she turned around. **

"**You almost died," He said through gritted teeth. The look in his eyes made Brennan's breath hitch "I will **_**never**_** forgive myself for that. I'll probably **_**never **_**get over it. I saw you, **_**dying**_**. I thought I would never get to tell you how much I love you," His voice never became tender, even though his words alone were, and she could tell he was furious "And I **_**knew **_**it was my fault. I ignored a gut feeling and you almost wound up dead. I'm not going to let that happen again. Period," He said before letting go of her arm, which he had been gripping tightly. When he started to walk away she spoke again.**

"**You lied to me, Seeley Booth! You lied to me," She said as she tried to fight back tears. Booth stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her again. **

"**What?" He said confused.**

"**You told me you were fine. You wouldn't talk to me this morning. You weren't honest with me. You lied!" He voice was hoarse on the last part of her statement. **

"**Because I didn't want you to react like this. I guess I was hoping on some level you would understand…" And with that he walked away and left the Jeffersonian. **

**Brennan pulled off her gloves and threw them on the autopsy table, before walking slowly off the platform towards her office. She shut the door quietly and closed the shades. **

**As soon as the shades shut the rest of the gang unfroze and turned towards each other with shocked and worried expressions. Angela mouthed 'Oh my God' to the rest of them before looking towards where Booth had exited and Brennan's office, Hodgins gave an exasperated sigh and moved awkwardly back to his microscopes. Clark had no idea how to react. That was probably **_**the **_**most intensely awkward thing he'd had to experience working at the Jeffersonian for such a short time. As the three of them struggled to get back to work, Angela couldn't help but be greatly concerned for her two friends. But somehow she knew things would work out in the end for them. She wondered what Brennan was doing in her office right now. She hoped she wasn't trying to avoid what had just happened. But unfortunately that wasn't unlikely.**

**A/N: So the next chapter will go up right away. Please review and let me know what you thought :) **


	21. What Happened Between them: Part Two

**A/N: So this is the continuing flashback chapter from the last one. The end of this chapter may seem MAJORLY cheesy, but that is ALSO how I roll as a writer ;D**

**So also if you guys remember in the chapter where Brennan asked Booth to move in with her I mentioned that it was when she woke up in the morning after making up with Booth that she started thinking about asking him to move in. So I'm leaving it up to you reviewers to decide whether or not I should put up a part three to this flashback with the next morning included or if I should just get back to the present. Let me know your opinion and enjoy the rest of this :)**

**Temperance Brennan was embarrassed. Embarrassed that she hadn't understood the hints a desperate boyfriend tried to give her, embarrassed she had let that fight escalade so far even though her brain was telling her to stop the entire time, embarrassed she had let him walk away and must have seemed so weak, embarrassed for **_**knowing **_**that in this particular argument, she was the one that was wrong, but couldn't bring herself to say it to him, and embarrassed her colleagues and friends had seen the **_**entire **_**thing. **

**At that point she didn't know what to do with herself. She wouldn't blame him if he hated her for the things she had said to him. Part of her wanted to run to him and apologize endlessly. But another part of her knew he needed space to calm down a little. And a smaller part of her was angry at him as well. Despite the fact that his side of their argument was the right one, he **_**had **_**lied to her. She wished with everything he had just been honest with her that morning, and maybe things wouldn't have gotten so bad. But instead he had blown up on the platform in front of everyone. **

**After thinking for several minutes, deciding to give him at least a few hours of space, Brennan's head sank and fell into her hands as she finally began to cry. **

**Two hours or so later there was a soft knock on her office door. Brennan had cried herself nearly to sleep and her heart skipped a beat at the knock. She got up slowly and headed towards the door. Half of her hoped it was Booth, but the other half knew it couldn't be him. A couple of hours weren't enough time for him. She opened the door to find Angela standing on the other side, the look of concern written all over her face.**

"**Sweetie, are you okay?" That was all she could think to say. What had happened was bad. And Brennan's current state emphasized that point. **

"**What do you think, Ange? Of course I'm not okay. I'm so..." Brennan shook her head "… Stupid. What the hell is wrong with me?" **

"**Sweetie, what happened out there?" **

"**I have no idea. It's like my head was screaming for me to stop and tell him he was absolutely right, but I just kept yelling. What am I going to do?" Brennan said desperately before walking back to the couch and sitting down. For once Angela didn't know what to say.**

"**I don't know sweetie. He needs some time. But I think some of the things you said really hurt him," Angela replied before sitting next to Brennan.**

"**I'm so used to not understanding peoples' feelings. And I'm so used to pushing people away. I understood exactly what Booth was trying to say to me, but I still pushed him away. And it was killing me the whole time. But I couldn't stop. And now…" Brennan stopped and Angela nodded.**

"**Go to him," Angela started "Give him a little space but then you need to go to him and tell him you're sorry," That was the best advice she could give her friend.**

"**What if he hates me?"**

"**Sweetie, he doesn't hate you. The man could **_**never **_**hate you. It would be literally impossible. He's angry, sure. Really angry. But that doesn't mean you can't fix things," She spoke reassuringly**

"**But, Ange," Brennan started, turning to face her "I'm angry with him, too. He lied to me this morning. Charlie called in the case to him and I could tell something was wrong as soon as he hung up his phone. He told me he was fine. He was distant. He wouldn't talk to me. He didn't walk me in to work. And he waited to tell me what was bothering him until the whole world was there to watch us argue. Maybe that's why I couldn't stop. We've always promised each other to tell the truth. And He didn't," Brennan looked to the floor.**

"**Everyone slips once in a while, sweetie. He was afraid to tell you the truth. And sometimes that gets the best of us. No relationships are perfect. But you can't hold that against him for long. As soon as you tell him you're sorry, he's going to tell you he's sorry, too. But give him space to realize that he **_**is **_**sorry. And everything will be okay. I promise," Brennan simply nodded, still very unsure and scared of what would happen between them. Everything had been so perfect. She thought they understood each other completely and they were moving on. But she also knew that people couldn't just move on that quickly. **

**As much as she knew Booth would need space, she knew she needed hers as well to think about what she would do.**

"**You want me to drive you home? You said Booth drove you here," Angela smiled a little and Brennan nodded. **

"**Yeah, thanks Ange," Brennan said before they stood up and made their way to Angela's car. **

**Once Brennan got home she immediately changed into her pajamas and got into bed. It wasn't any later that 4:30pm but Brennan didn't care. As soon as her head hit the pillow a new wave of tears began to cascade down her face. She realized she was going to be alone that night. She knew she wouldn't go to him that night, for she was too afraid he'd still be very angry. And she couldn't blame him. She replayed their argument over and over in her head. Stopping frequently at one particular thing she had said. **

'_**Yeah, well maybe you care too much,'**_

**Every time she remembered that part of the argument, she felt a certain pain in her chest. She absolutely adored how much he cared for her. And the look in his eyes after she'd said that had immediately made her wish she could turn back time. How could such a horrible thing come out of her mouth? And what scared her more is that he might stop caring for her the way he did. That thought alone had her continually crying through the rest of the night. **

**All she could do was hope with all her heart that he knew she didn't mean what she had said.**

**Booth walked slowly through the doors of his apartment. The apartment he had basically abandoned since he and Brennan had gotten together. He had never felt heavier and more hopeless in his entire life. The sea of mixed emotions ruined his ability to function, and he had left work early that day. He told Hacker to get someone else to interrogate their suspect. He knew he wouldn't be able to focus. He had sat at his desk thinking for a few hours before he inevitably left for his apartment. **

**He was angry. He was sad. He was guilty. He was confused. He was **_**hurt.**_

**On some level he **_**knew **_**for a fact she didn't mean some of the things she'd said. But that didn't mean the things hadn't hurt him so bad he was nauseous. He made his way to his bedroom and slowly undressed down to his boxers and crawled in. He immediately felt cold and alone. **

**He stood by everything he had told her on that platform. There wasn't anything he would take back except for having been dishonest with her that morning. She was right. He had lied to her. Looked straight into her eyes… and lied. He'd promised her so many times in the past he would never do that to her, that he would always be honest. But he hadn't been. And he couldn't help but think that maybe if he had, things wouldn't have turned out the way they did. They were both wrong. And he knew it. **

**But he also knew that he couldn't go to her. He couldn't be the one to initiate fixing what had happened. It had to be her. Because he knew if he looked at her face right now, all he'd do was apologize endlessly and tell her she had nothing to be sorry for. But that wasn't true. And he wasn't strong at this time. He needed to wait for her. **

**He pictured her at her office desk or on the forensic platform just going on with her day. He pictured her trying to ignore what had happened between them and her pushing it away like she had done many times in the past in other situations. That thought made his stomach ache even more.**

**Then he pictured her crying. On the one hand, he would rather she'd be crying then pushing her emotions away. But on the other hand it killed him to picture her upset and alone in her apartment without his arms around her. **

**There was nothing he could do now to make himself feel better. All he could do was hope and wait she would eventually knock on his door, because now it was up to her what would ultimately happen between them.**

**The next morning Brennan woke up in a haze. Her head felt so heavy, she couldn't get herself out of bed. She was thankful it was Saturday and didn't have to force herself to go to work. She didn't see herself getting out of that bed all day. She was still too afraid to go to Booth. But she knew she would have to eventually, or things would be ruined between them. **

**Booth hadn't slept at all that night. He couldn't bring himself to relax enough and had given up around midnight or so and watched television until he felt numb. It was nearly 10 in the morning when he decided he needed to do something with himself. He got up and took a look at his apartment. Everything was covered in dust and it didn't feel like home to him anymore. He felt alone and depressed in the place he'd always been so proud of. He found a black shoe box on his shelf covered in dust and brought it to the center of his living room and sat on the floor. He opened it and began to go through the pictures inside. He spent the next few hours just looking at photos. Some as old as when he was in the army, and others as new as a month or two ago. **

**Pictures of him and Teddy, pictures of him and Jared, pictures of him and Parker, pictures with the squints… Everything was there. It was around 1pm when he came across a picture that nearly made him burst into sobs. It was a picture of him and Brennan hugging by the reflecting pool. They both looked so happy that it surprised him they weren't already a couple at that time. If some stranger picked up that photo, they would immediately assume they were a couple in love. He remembered that day. The squints and him had gone out to lunch and decided to take a walk around the city. Angela had brought her camera and took pictures of everything. Booth had been walking beside Brennan in front of the others, talking and laughing. Angela had told them to turn around and hug so she could take a picture. **

**As he stared at that picture he couldn't help but miss her incredibly. He wish she was there to find that picture with him. He got up and began rummaging through boxes until he found a frame. He put the picture inside of it and brought it to his bedroom, placing it in his closet to be put out later when looking at it wouldn't send pains through his body. **

**He got into the shower and let the water run over his body for a long hour or so, not being able to actually wash because his entire bathroom had basically been relocated to Brennan's apartment. When he finally got out, he lay down in his bed again and thought endlessly. Time had stopped and he felt he was going to be stuck in that moment forever, in his bed waiting for her to knock on his door, but that being impossible because he was frozen. He pictured her telling him that time standing still would be impossible, going into some squinty explanation, and it actually brought a smile to his face. He knew in his heart that things would be okay. He just needed to wait. He knew she would come through for him. He wasn't going to let himself think otherwise. At least for as long as he was strong enough to do so.**

**It was reaching 11pm and Brennan wondered how she had gotten there. She sat in the middle of her bed, knees pulled to her chest, head rested atop them. She thought about what she was going to say to him when she finally gathered the courage to walk out the door, get in her car and drive herself to his apartment where she knew he would be. There was nothing she could think that she could say that would let him know how sorry she was. She knew she wouldn't be able to plan what she would say to him. It just had to happen like things always did with them. **

**She wondered what Booth would be doing right now. What he would be thinking about. She hoped with every fiber of her being she hadn't caused him to go out and gamble. That thought made her sick. If she had caused anything like that she would never ever forgive herself. That was when she looked around the room and took in the image of random articles of Booth's clothing littering her floor. And her mind immediately went to the image of Booth cold and alone in his apartment. She took a deep breath and realized she **_**needed **_**to go; if things were ever going to be fixed, it had to be now. She slowly got out of bed and didn't bother putting on real clothes. She grabbed her keys and a sweat shirt and made her way out to her car. **

**15 minutes later she was at his front door. She rested her forehead against the wood and took a deep breath. **

**Booth lay in his bed and looked at the clock.**

'**11:30' **

**As soon as he decided tonight wasn't going to be the night she would be coming over, and decided he needed to try and sleep, he heard the knock on his door. Butterflies immediately flew through his stomach frantically as he pulled himself from his covers and made way to his front door. **

**He took a deep breath and slowly undid the chain, turned the doorknob to slowly open the door which revealed the most beautiful thing he thought he'd ever see. **

**She stood in front of him; hair a mess, wearing a big sweater and lounge pants. Her hands were shoved into the front pocket of the sweater. Her feet were bare and her head was slumped, but her eyes were looking into his. **

"**Bones," He said quietly and simply. **

'_**Thank God' **_**ran through his over and over.**

"**Hi," Her voice cracked as she tried to hold back tears. He couldn't help but break into a few tears. She looked so ashamed. Shoulders slumped, head bowed, as she wobbled back and forth on her bare feet, rubbing them together. **

"**You're cold,"**

**Her immediate reaction was to tell him she was fine. But she stopped herself and decided not to lie. She just nodded her head and looked at the ground. **

**He took a gentle hold of her arm, intending to guide her inside, but as soon as he touched her arm, his expression turned surprised. He furrowed his brows, and his hand trailed down the length of her arm and pulled one hand free of the pocket to find that it was trembling uncontrollably. She immediately averted her gaze lower to the floor. **

"**Baby," He whispered as he held and watched her hand. It was barely audible, but she still heard it. And she didn't stand a chance against the sobs that immediately escaped her mouth. He let her face slam into his chest and he closed the door behind them, letting his arms wrap around her "Don't be afraid… talk to me," He wanted to sound reassuring, he didn't want there to be any arguing. But he knew they needed to talk. And by the looks of her he **_**knew **_**she as afraid of what he might say to her. So he let himself hug her and be a comforting boyfriend. After all, she **_**did **_**come to his apartment by herself. And that was big. **

**She took a deep, shaky breath and looked into his eyes "I'm so sorry" She continued to cry and Booth wiped her tears away as they came, while his own fell freely down his face "I know you care about me and I know you love me and I adore you for that," Nothing sounded more perfect going through his ears than what she had just said "I understood everything you were saying but I couldn't stop being the way I've always been. I was horrible to you. You can never care too much for me. I've never had anyone that cares so much. And I don't know what I would do if I lost that. I was stupid. I couldn't have been worse. I don't blame you if you hate me for it," He closed his eyes and rested his forehead desperately on hers as she continued "I trust you to know what's best for me and I don't know how else to explain how sorry I am. I just hope you can forgive me," He wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders.**

"**I'm sorry I lied to you. I didn't know what else to do. I guess on some level I was hoping it would all go away. I was afraid to tell you I didn't want to put your safety at risk… fearing you would react the way you did. What you said hurt me. A lot. But, baby, I could **_**never**_** hate you," He squeezed her tighter when he said 'never'. He pulled away from her slightly to look at her "I love you very, very much. And no matter how bad or how much we fight, that's never going to change," Their eyes danced for a second before he finished "I **_**promise**_**"**

"**I don't ever want to fight with you again. I was so scared," She squeaked and Booth tightened his grip on her. **

"**I couldn't agree with that more," He said honestly before he buried his face into the top of her shoulder and continued to hold her. Her forehead rested just below the top of his opposite shoulder and they breathed deeply for a few minutes, calming themselves down. **

"**I love you," Brennan whispered into his body. She clutched his shirt in both her hands, never wanting to let him go. **

"**I'll always love you, too," He replied sincerely, pulling away to kiss her forehead. **

**He tilted his head and captured her lips with his. It was at that moment that all the remaining weight of what happened between them was lifted. They kissed for several minutes before he pulled away and placed his forehead back against hers.**

"**I am. So. Tired," He said to try and ease the tension a little, but he was also telling the complete truth.**

"**Yeah, forgive me if I fall asleep right here," She joked and then looked up at him "You haven't slept at all?"**

"**Can you blame me?" She shook her head and chuckled through her nose "You?"**

"**Only a little. But it might as well have been none," She sighed and closed her eyes, suddenly even more aware of her state of exhaustion. **

"**Lullaby, and goodnight, go to sleep little Bones," Booth started to sing as he rocked her back and forth.**

"**What are you doing?" She opened her eyes and looked up at him. **

"**Singing you a lullaby," He said before continuing "Sleepyhead, close your eyes, Boothie's right here beside you," He scooped her up in his arms and continued to sing "I'll protect you from harm, you will wake in my arms. Guardian angels are near, so sleep on, with no fear," **

**Even though she felt ridiculous letting him sing to her like that, and she knew he was just joking around, the way he sounded when he sang soothed her and she allowed him to continue.**

"**Guardian angels are near, so sleep on, with no fear. Lullaby, and sleep tight, hush! My darling is sleeping," He laid her down in his bed and pulled the blankets over her and he curled up beside her "on my sheets white as cream, with her head full of dreams…" He kissed the back of her head "Good night, Bones," He whispered into her ear, but she was already asleep.**


	22. What Happened Between them: Part Three

**A/N: I'm not gonna lie to you guys... this is not exactly my favorite chapter :( But I needed to get it in and any feedback is appreciated. The next chapter should be better and then we'll be following back on those planned chapters from before. Thanks everyone!**

**3B&B3**

"He actually sang you to sleep?" Angela was shocked to hear that the G-man she'd come to know and love had been so sappy and sweet "Remind me to mock him about that later on" She joked. Brennan rolled her eyes at her friend.

"Do you want me to finish the story or not?"

"Right, sorry. Go on," Angela gestured Brennan to proceed with her hands.

"Well it was when we woke up the next day that I started to think about us moving in…"

**Brennan slowly awakened to the sound of birds chirping. She slowly opened her eyes, only to not be prepared for the amount of light already beaming through the curtains, and closed them again tightly. She slowly turned in Booth's arms to face him and hide her face from the light with his chest, trying hard to be slow enough so she wouldn't wake him. But sure enough, as soon as she settled herself he began to stir, before kissing her forehead. **

"**I missed you so much," He whispered into her hair which made Brennan smile.**

**She had missed him, too. But she wouldn't be so quick to admit it. After a short period of silence, Booth decided to speak again.**

"**You fell asleep to my lullaby…" He chuckled while shaking her lightly and playfully. Brennan let out a whiney moan in response, and Booth tried to nudge her forehead up with his so he could kiss her, only to have her refuse by burying her face deeper into his neck "Boooones, common" **

**He started placing warm kisses on her forehead over and over, but she continued to be resistant to his charm.**

"**You're really pretty, you know that?" She looked up at him and smiled, then returned her face to his neck. Booth moved himself down so they were face to face and began kissing the rest of her face. He wasn't going to let her win.**

"**Booth, stop," Brennan giggled when he started kissing her cheeks and she turned away from him. With that, Booth began to get up out of bed, knowing she would immediately regret her decision to be resistant.**

"**Okay fine, what do you want for breakfast?" He watched as she just shrugged and closed her eyes. And he knew he was right by the look on her face. She would give in any moment "I'll be in the kitchen" He said, opening the door so he could make his way out. **

**He was halfway to the kitchen when the floor creaked behind him. He turned around to find her merely inches away from him. She stepped forward and pressed herself against him.**

"**You're evil," She began "But I missed you too, Booth," He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.**

"**There's my girl," He nudged her forehead again with his, and she finally gave in. He kissed her a few times before pulling away, and taking her hand to head towards the kitchen. **

**When they finally reached their destination, Brennan just froze in the middle of the room and looked around.**

"**Booth look at this place!" She exclaimed. With light now pouring in from the windows, it was easy to see his place had basically been abandoned. Dust covered almost every visible surface and there was no food in sight. She opened the fridge to find nothing but a half bottle of orange juice and some rotting fruit, along with what must have been ancient salad dressings and condiments. **

"**I know, it's awful isn't it?" Booth laughed at her surprise. What was she so surprised about? Had they not spent every waking minute by each others' side since they got together? And had he not spent one night in his apartment in over two weeks, and not actually eaten there in God knows how long? His face continued to show how amused he was. **

"**Booth, there's dust everywhere and you have no food whatsoever! I've never seen you're place like this! Seeley Booth's apartment… with not a morsel of food in sight? It's impossible" She quickly changed her tone from shocked to joking. **

"**Nothing is impossible," He smiled at her "And you haven't even seen the bathroom yet," With that Brennan made her way to the bathroom and peaked in, to find it pretty much empty with the exception of a half-used bar of soap and a wet towel on the floor beside the shower. When she turned around, she nearly jumped to find Booth's face millimeters from hers "Are you surprised?" **

"**I guess not, but go get changed because we're going home," Her choice of words slipped out and she immediately realized what she had said "I mean, my place"**

"**Your place…" Booth nodded and turned back to his bedroom to get changed.**

"**My place…" Brennan whispered to herself and shook her head "Our place… home" she tested the words and liked the way they sounded. She looked back around the kitchen and into the bathroom and decided that it was time for a change, before following Booth into his bedroom and shutting the door behind them.**

"So that's it. And here we are…" Brennan finished and Angela smiled.

"You and Booth are living together,"

"That's right,"

"Sweetie, I'm so happy for you," Angela moved in to hug her friend, when they heard a knock on the wall to get their attention. They both turned around to find Booth standing there with an awkward expression on his face.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"No, no, Studly. Just having one of our usual girl-talks," The girls both noticed Booth's face immediately flush, knowing he was afraid of what they might have been talking about.

"Right, um, Bones. We're having lunch with Parker remember? We need to get going,"

"Oh, right, yeah sorry," Brennan started walking towards Booth, Angela followed behind her and punched Booth lightly in the arm.

"Lullaby and goodnight, G-man," Angela laughed and left bone storage. Booth snapped his attention back to Brennan and narrowed his eyes at her.

"Evil…"

"Who could have known you were such a softie?" Brennan joked "Let's go, we don't want to be late," She moved passed him towards where Angela had gone, Booth following behind her shortly afterwards.

**3B&B3**

**A/N: Hmph… yeah not my best work. I just hope you guys stay with me on this :p**


	23. So, Where's Parker in All This?

**(A/N) There isn't really much I can say other than there is no way I can apologize to you guys enough for my lack of updating and basic neglect of the fanfiction world. Lets just say writing has, regretfully, fallen very far down on my list of priorities recently due to school and family emergency after family emergency. I feel guilty for how unreliable I've become with my story and there's nothing really I can say other than I'm sorry. **

**I've basically become lost with this story. it is extremely difficult for me to write because I've found the story has become so disorganized that I sometimes don't even know what I'm doing. There isn't really any time it's set it (season/month wise) and it makes it hard to make it a more realistic and believable plot. I've forgotten many of the major key points for what happens because I haven't been taking plot notes recently that I can easily look back on. I've decided to end this story earlier than I expected (this isn't the last chapter still, but it's a relatively long one) meaning I probably won't be adding in a vacation chapter. I guess this is one of those things that happens sometimes to writers where time doesn't agree with what needs to be put into a story. My next story will be different, because I'm going into it prepared. Every chapter will be planned before I post anything. So I'm sorry if this story has become confusing or contradicting within its own self. Just bare with me because I haven't forgotten you guys. You are incredably faithful readers while I have recently proven myself to be an unfaithful author. I apologize immensely and I will try to put writing into my regular schedule so I don't leave you for two whole months ever again. It's unfair to you guys and I guess life has just really gotten in my way. **

**I sincerely love all the people who continue to give me advice and feedback throughout my story. It makes me happy to know that people are still willing to read even after my neglect of you. I guess you can never promise things, not knowing what life may throw at you, like of done many times in the past. **

**For the people who actually read this note, thank you immensely for your commitment. I'm going to try and wrap up this story within the next couple of chapters. **

**Thank you and sorry again xinfinity. I hope you enjoy this chapter! **

"Can I have another milkshake?" Parker asked almost on cue, his previous sip having made his current milkshake just below half finished.

"Finish the one you have first," Brennan and Booth answered in unison, before smiling at each other, earning an annoyed and curious expression from the nine year old in response. The three continued to eat their meals in silence for a short period until Parker spoke up again.

"Hey dad, after we eat can we go to Bones' apartment and go swimming? I packed my bathing suit, a towel, goggles and everything!" Booth smiled at his eager son and then looked to Brennan who simply nodded.

It had been over a month that Booth had a chance to spend time with his son. Since Brennan had been kidnapped, his schedule was completely tied up with helping her through recovery, catching up on desk work and more recently the moving in to Brennan's apartment. It had only become apparent to him that Parker had no idea of any of the new circumstances on the drive over to meet Rebecca and Parker at the diner. Booth decided that they would need to tell him immediately, given the steps they had already taken and how fast their relationship was progressing. But he didn't know how to bring the topic up.

"Sure, bub. That sounds fun," Booth continued to eat before looking up at Brennan who was giving him a subtle glare "What?" He mouthed to her in response to the glare he was receiving.

"Tell him," She mouthed back and Booth only put his hand up in a 'hold on' sort of gesture.

"Bud, I need to talk to Bones in private for a second. Stay here, all right?" Parker looked at them skeptically but returned his attention back to the table.

"Got it!" Parker said with a salute, obviously focused on getting his milk shake finished so he could order his second one. Booth and Brennan stood up and headed towards the small hall between the main diner and the restrooms.

"What is it?" Brennan asked curiously, noting the nervous look on Booth's face.

"I'm horrible. I am a _horrible_ father. It's been over a month that I've seen my son! He has no idea that his bed is now in your guest room and we've been living together for over a week. Hell, he doesn't even know we're _dating_! I have no idea what to do, how to bring it up or how to explain it. What if he gets mad? What if he doesn't want his second home to be somewhere else? What if he doesn't approve? What do we do then?" Booth was talking a mile a minute and Brennan was shocked at how upset he was becoming.

"Booth. You need to calm down," She spoke in a slow, serious voice and Booth only nodded in response "It's all going to be fine. Parker is a great kid. As long as you make it apparent to him that you're happy, he'll be happy too. You just have to wait for the right time for it to come up, you're good at that," Booth nodded again, still somewhat nervous, but calmed significantly due to Brennan's words.

"All right," Booth said ready to move back towards the table but was stopped mid-stride when Brennan grabbed his tie.

"We are not finished," Brennan continued in her super serious tone and Booth tilted his head slightly, confused.

"Huh?"

"I don't want you to ever refer to yourself as a 'horrible father' again. You are the _best _father Parker could ask for. You're committed, caring, and faithful to all the people you love and Parker knows that. You're an amazing father, an amazing partner, an amazing boyfriend, and an amazing everything. Got it?" Her eyes told him she was being nothing but serious, and the way she didn't break the gaze between them told him she was expecting a serious answer back. He nodded and smiled slightly.

"I got it. Thanks, Bones"

"I tell the truth, it's kind of my thing," she winked, Booth chuckled in return and leaned down to kiss her multiple times while clutching her hand in his.

"You know," He managed to mumble between kisses "You're not so bad a girlfriend and partner yourself," He continued to kiss her and she laughed into his mouth.

"Yeah?"

"Mhm," He smiled as they continued to kiss in the small hallway. It was only when a waitress walked past them and coughed to bring their attention back to reality that they realized what they were doing and laughed embarrassed "Bones, we're in the diner and my son is about three yards away from us,"

"Yeah, we should probably stop now if we plan on coming back," She said before shrugging off the moment. Intending on walking back towards the table, it became apparent how hard a grip Booth had on her hand "Ah, Booth! I know you're nervous but don't take it out on my hand…" Booth immediately let go of her hand, and Brennan shook it out slightly "Ready?"

"I guess," Booth said before they finally walked out of the hallway together and made their way back to the table, finding Parker with a second milkshake. When they sat back down it was apparent he wasn't focused on the milkshake, but rather on them. His arms were crossed and he glared at them suggestively.

"What?" Booth asked, taking in Parker's expression.

"Don't play dumb. I'm nine, not stupid. Is there something you two would like to share with me?"

Brennan and Booth's eyes snapped towards each other and then back to Parker.

"I don't think your age and your intelligence level can really be compared in such a way…" Brennan started.

Parker just giggled.

"You guys are so bad at hiding it. I knew the second you got out of dad's truck,"

"Knew what?" The partners said in unison.

"There's something going on between you two. You've been looking at each other funny and acting strange. You were just gone for like ten minutes and you come back looking like that?" Brennan and Booth looked at each other, just now noticing the swollenness of each other lips that went previously unnoticed in the darkness of the hallway "Start talking," Parker demanded.

"Since when did you become…" Booth started but trailed off, unable to find a correct word to suit Parker's new attitude.

"So observant and…" Brennan tried to continue but failed miserably.

"Not stupid?" Parker smirked in such a way that he was clearly the uncanny resemblance of his father.

"Parker you were never stupid," Brennan protested "You're a brilliant child"

"I know," Parker basked in the glory of her statement for a couple seconds "But I'm not a little kid anymore. And I can tell when something's up. So stop trying to change the subject and just tell me"

Booth's face turned a bright shade of red and Brennan laughed to herself at how nervous the man was of talking to his own son about his love life.

"Parker… you're father and I are dating" Booth half smiled nervously. Parker grinned from ear to ear and slammed his fist on the table, a similar reaction Brennan had seen her partner perform countless times.

"I knew it!" Parker exclaimed excitedly "and you're just telling me now?"

"There are a lot of grown up reasons for why you're just finding out, bud. Don't push it" Parker shrugged and got out of his seat. He made his way to the other side of the booth and hugged the two partners "What was that for?"

"I just missed you guys. A lot. And I'm super excited because now I get to spend all the time I want at Bones' apartment and I get to swim in her pool all the time!"

"Buddy, don't be rude" Booth warned and Brennan just glared at her partner.

"Yes, Parker. I suspect that since you're father and I are now romantically involved that you will be spending a significant amount of time at my place. Seeing as my place is now also your father's place, and my pool is also your father's pool" Parker's expression quickly turned to one of confusion.

"Whoa wait a minute! Dad, you _live _with Bones too? Since when?"

"Park, I know you loved my old apartment but Bones and I really wanted to move in together. And my apartment was too small for all of her stuff, my stuff and your stuff" Parker nodded understandingly but his face hinted at a small feeling of sadness.

"You still should have told me before you did it. I'm excited that you're living with Bones. But it's just kind of weird that I don't have my second home anymore" At that comment, Booth's expression was one of all sorts of guilty. He had never felt more horrible in his life.

"Buddy, I'm so, so sorry. Everything has just been _so _insane lately and when you're older Bones and I will explain what's been happening recently. Would it make you feel better if I told you that you get to design your room in Bones' apartment any way you want?" Parker smiled up happily at his dad.

"Yeah, it would," he grinned toothily and Booth smiled back at him.

"We're going to go shopping and everything for your room, Parker. You can pick out whatever you want to go in it, you can't paint it however you want, and put whatever color carpeting you want into it, as long as it's all reasonable" Brennan explained.

"Cool! I'm so excited! Dad, can we go to Bones' apartment so I can see what room I get?"

"Bud, you've seen it before. It's her guest bedroom"

"That room is _huge!" _The partners nodded at him and Parker took a sip of his milkshake.

For the rest of their lunch, Parker couldn't stop smiling. How could he? His dad was with the coolest girl on the planet, he had his dream pool, a huge new bedroom and he could get whatever he wanted to go in it. Life was good for the 9 year old.

When they finished dinner the three walked out of the diner and made their way towards Booth's SUV.

"Hey Dad, can I have a T.V. in my room?"

"Sure, buddy"

"Can I have one of those big stereos for my ipod?"

"Depends, but probably," Booth was relieved that Parker was so excited and not too angry at him for not filling him in on everything in his life recently. He made a promise to himself he would never put his son through that kind of shock again.

"Can I have a king size bed?"

"Don't push it, kid"

"I think a full would be more reasonable," Brennan commented.

"All right. But can I have an Xbox? Mom won't let me have one because we only have one television in the whole house"

"We'll have to talk about that one, Parker. We don't want to go overboard on the expenses. Besides, you'll go through withdrawl when you're at Mom's and your Xbox is with me, and I can do whatever I want on it" Booth turned slightly and winked at his son.

"Daaaaad, that's mean!"

"Money is not an issue, Booth. We told him he can have whatever he wants as long as it's reasonable. What is an "Xbox" anyways?"

"Only the most-" Parker started but Booth cut him off, knowing whatever he was going to say would make absolutely no sense to Brennan.

"It's a gaming system you can play video games on either solo or you can connect it to the internet and play with other people who have the same game as you. You can also use it to play DVDs and a there's a bunch of other little things you can do with it"

"Sounds fun," Brennan said simply.

"You bet it is! My friend Anthony has one and when I'm at his place, we're on that thing all night!" Booth laughed.

"I bet I could kick your butt at every single game. I am a master at video games" Booth said in a cocky tone. Parker shook his head in an annoyed way.

"Bones how soon can we start getting stuff? Because I need to prove to a certain someone in the front seat that he's challenging the wrong person" Booth laughed hysterically at that.

"You are _on _pal!"

"So apparently that's a yes on the Xbox?" Brennan said, pulling out a list pad and a pen from her purse, beginning a list of the things they'd discussed so far for Parker's room.

"Sure, it's a yes. But, bud, I'm going to have to give your mom a call and let her know everything that's going on and what we're planning on getting and make sure it's all okay with her. Does that sound reasonable?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm sure mom won't mind,"

Once the three arrived back at Brennan's apartment, Booth sent Brennan and Parker to his new room so he could decide where he wanted to put stuff. While they were over there he made the call to Rebecca. He explained everything from where he was with Brennan and that they had moved in to why it had taken him so long to talk to Parker and his reactions, to their shopping plans. Rebecca agreed to the arrangement as long as they didn't over-spoil him and as long as they explained to him they wouldn't always be spending that kind of money on him. Rebecca also mentioned Parker had off school on Monday and that she would be willing to let him spend Sunday night with them so they could get his room done before his next visit, and she could have a chance to get stuff done around her own place. Booth agreed happily and they hung up the phone on satisfying terms. Booth made his way to the bedroom where the two most important people in his life were discussing paint colors and where things could go.

"Guess what Parker," Booth smiled.

"What?" Parker answered distractedly as he looked around his new room.

"You get to spend an extra night here since you have no school on Monday. So we can have a chance to get everything done before you come back for your next visit,"

"Yes! So what are we doing first?"

"I think it would be smart to start off by dropping off this furniture at St. Vincent, then going to get paint, so we can paint before we buy furniture. And Parker said he's fine with the carpeting that's in here for now and we can re-carpet later if he wants it"

"Okay that sounds reasonable. Then we can go shopping tomorrow for everything else. What color were we thinking?"

"Red!" Parker said without having to think about it.

"Red it is," Booth responded "Let's get going it's nearing 2 and we need to get to the store if we wanna get the painting done before 7"

"Then can we go swimming?" Parker asked.

"Sure," Booth said smiling while his son put on his shoes.

"This is the best weekend ever!" Parker exclaimed. Booth and Brennan laughed.

"Get in the car, kid"

At about 11pm Booth and Brennan were _exhausted. _Parker was asleep on the couch and they knew they were going to need a lot of sleep before the next day.

After they had bought the paint, Brennan made a few calls to Angela and Hodgins, her father, and Sweets and Daisy and magically got them all over to help with clearing out the guest bedroom. Booth, Sweets and Hodgins and Max all worked on disassembling furniture while she, Angela, Daisy and Parker cleared out the few small items such as pictures, books and other trinkets. Brennan was glad that she hadn't gone to any great lengths to decorate the room, for she very rarely had guests stay in it.

Within the next two hours, everything was out and had been donated to St. Vincent De Paul's, with the exception of a few books and décor that Brennan decided to keep in the apartment.

Within the next hour or two after that, the painting was finished. It wasn't in the least bit difficult for eight people to finish painting a room, and ultimately they had a blast doing it. As a thank you, Brennan bought dinner for everyone, resulting in an almost spontaneous get-together. Booth, Brennan, and Parker finally made it to the pool around 10 and swam for a good hour before Parker's exhaustion finally kicked in.

Brennan and Booth collapsed in bed together.

"I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure today has been the _longest_ day of my life," Booth said sighing, resting his hands behind his head.

"I agree it was extremely drawn out. But it was also a pretty great day as well," Brennan said before rolling over atop Booth's chest. He reacted swiftly, moving one arm to wrap around her back, and the other to rest on her hip. He rested the side of his head on top of hers and closed his eyes.

"It was amazing. I've never seen Parker so happy,"

"I told you everything would be fine," Brennan said in a worn out tone, rather than a smug one. Booth kissed her forehead in response.

"Goodnight, Bones" He said, already half asleep.

"Goodnight"

The rest of the weekend went by quickly. Parker took after his father and was surprisingly fast at getting himself into a store, finding what he wanted, and getting out. It had taken them all of about three or four hours to pick out all of his major furniture and lamps from Pottery Barn and his bedspread from JC Penny and get it all back to the apartment with the help of a rented moving truck.

The longest portion of the day was spent at Best Buy, where father and son bickered endlessly over which flat screen Parker should get and which stereo. At least getting the Xbox was easy, since they didn't have to pick a certain one.

After having carefully put the room together, the three spent the rest of the weekend hanging out casually until Parker had to return home Monday morning before Brennan and Booth returned to work.

The following few months also flew by. Parker came to visit every other weekend as usual, and Brennan and Booth became more and more acclimated to couple-hood. Cases were less frequent and simple recently for some reason and things had become pretty calm for a good while.

Booth and Brennan had talked somewhat about taking that vacation and decided to hold it off for a bit longer, with Booth not wanting to be away from Parker after what he liked to call "His Sabbatical away from him" and Brennan not wanting to leave the lab after those lost weeks of recovery.

Things were easy for now. And Brennan and Booth, along with the others at the lab, were going to enjoy it as much as they could while it lasted.

**(A/N) So there you have it, another extremely belated edition to my story. Thank you to the people who read it! I don't think I even have the right to ask you to review so I'm not going to haha :p If you'd like, just wait for the next few chapters and read without feeling the responsibilty to review me. I know this story deserves to be finished, and it will be. And once my next story is completely planned, I'll be ready to jump back into this more commited than I've ever been.**


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